The Lost One
by Jewelz1642
Summary: There was another girl who Elijah and Klaus fought over. Their best friend, Alliana the twin sister of Tatia. They don't realize what she means to them until too late. She was supposedly gone forever, until they find not only Tatia's doppelganger, Elena, but her twin sister and Alliana's doppelganger, Emilia.
1. Chapter 1

Vampire Diaries Fanfic Idea #1

Summary: Long before Tatia came to town, Elijah and Niklaus had their eye on one girl, their best friend, Alliana. When Tatia comes to the village, everything changes. The most that changes is their friendship. Instead of spending time with Alliana, they spend time with her sister, Tatia. This continues until the night they turn, when they realize what she means to each of them too late. They believed she was gone from their lives forever, until they arrived in Mystic Falls. There they find not only the doppelgänger of Tatia, but the doppelgänger of Alliana.

A/N: This is my first fanfic. Constructive criticism is recommended and greatly appreciated. Please tell me how you feel about this story. Reviews are also appreciated.

Ch.1

"_Alliana, come over here and meet your neighbors!" shouted Aunt Helena._

"_I am coming," Alliana shouted back. She walked outside their hut and over to her aunt. She was standing with a big family with many children. The mother walked over to her and greeted her._

"_Hello, my name is Esther. These are my children."_

"_Finn, my eldest," a tall, thin man with medium brown hair nods in Alliana's direction._

"_Elijah, my second eldest," a tall, strong older boy with dark curly hair greets her. "Hello."_

"_Niklaus, my third son," an older boy with light brown hair and deep blue eyes who barely looks at her is introduced._

"_Kol, my fourth son," a boy with dark brown hair walks over to her. He grabs her hand, kisses it, and winks at her._

"_Rebekah, my daughter," a girl with light blonde hair and blue eyes smiles at Alliana._

"_And finally, Henrik, my youngest," a young boy with medium brown hair, waves to her._

_Alliana greets them all in return. Her aunt introduces her. "This is my niece, Alliana. She will be staying here for a while."_

"_Hello."_

"_Rebekah, can you show Alliana where to collect water? She will do chores with you," Esther said._

"_Yes, mother," Rebekah says. "Come follow me."_

_She started to walk towards the forest and Alliana followed. The trees were tall and a bright vivid green. They forest was light and spacious. It was beautiful. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, making them look brighter than usual. It was a beautiful spring day. She followed Rebekah farther into the forest._

"_We collect water from the creek not too far from here. It is fed by a waterfall a little further down. My brothers and I love to play in the waterfall," Rebekah tells her._

"_It must be nice to have such a large family," Alliana replies._

"_At times. My brothers and I are all different. Finn is very serious and thoughtful. He is always thinking and studying when he is not hunting with my father. Elijah is very moral, but very serious at times. He still plays games, though. Niklaus is very strong. He is always protecting me. He loves to plays games. Kol loves to play tricks. He is constantly trying to trick me and annoy Nik. Henrik is the youngest. He is the sweetest. He tries to make everyone happy at all times. I am very stubborn, but I love my family and will protect them always."_

"_It must be nice. My family is not as close."_

"_I had wondered why you are here. The village doesn't get too many new people."_

"_I asked my parents if I could leave. They sent me here to my aunt."_

"_They just let you go? They did not want you to stay."_

"_I think they mostly wanted me to go. They also knew that I wanted to see new places."_

"_I cannot believe they would let you go."_

"_They are probably going to send my sister here soon."_

"_You have a sister?"_

"_Yes, she is my twin sister."_

"_What is she like?"_

"_Her name is Tatia…."_

"Jeremy, Elena, Emilia! It's time to get up for school!" Aunt Jenna shouts.

I quickly get up and get dressed. I rush downstairs to see Aunt Jenna rushing around the kitchen. "Toast, I can make toast," she says.

"I can eat some cereal. They just need some coffee," I say.

"Yeah, it's all about the coffee Aunt Jenna," says Elena as she walks in. My twin is looking good as always. I make myself some cereal.

"Is there coffee?" says Jeremy as he walks in. Elena hands him the coffee pot.

"It is your first day of school and I am totally unprepared. Lunch money?" Jenna says as she offers us some cash.

"We're good," Elena and I say, while Jeremy takes some of the money.

Jenna rushes around the kitchen, searching for things. "Anything else? A number two pencil? What am I missing?"

"Don't you have a big presentation thing today?" I say. I finish my cereal and start to clean up.

"I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at…now. Crap."

"Then go. We will be fine." I say. Jenna rushes out. I notice Elena zoned out. I nudge her and turn to Jeremy. "Are you okay?" I ask him.

"Don't start," he says as he turns away and walks out. I am a little annoyed at him. Elena and I turn towards the window. I steal some of her coffee.

"This is going to be a long day," I say.

(linebreaklinebreaklinebreaklinebreak)

Elena and I were in the car with Bonnie. Elena was in the front seat spacing out again, while I was in the back half-listening to music and half-listening to Bonnie ramble. She was talking about her Grams telling her she is psychic. She finally notices that Elena is not paying attention and calls out to her. "Elena! Back in the car."

"Oh, I did it again, didn't I?" Elena says.

"Totally spacing out. Yes, yes you were," I say to Elena.

Elena makes a face at me and I laugh. She turns to Bonnie and says, "I'm sorry Bonnie. You were telling us that…"

"That I'm psychic now," Bonnie says.

"Right. Okay, then predict something." says Elena.

"About us," I say.

Bonnie sighs, then says, "I see..." Right as a bird crashes into the windshield. We all gasp and Bonnie swerves the car, and then stops it. I stop and take a breath. My heart is pounding in my chest. Bonnie turns to us, "Are you guys okay?"

"It's okay. We're fine," I say. I saw Elena still looks a little shaken up.

"It was like a bird or something. It came out of nowhere."

"No really. We can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of our lives," Elena tells Bonnie.

Bonnie sighs. "I predict that this year is going to be kick-ass and I predict that all the sad and dark times are over and you guys are going to be beyond happy." Elena and I smile at Bonnie and she smiles back.

"Okay. Let's go," I say. Bonnie drives us to school. It's the start of a new year and everyone is greeting each other. They are all talking about what happened over the summer.

Bonnie, Elena, and I are walking down the hallways. We stop at Bonnie's locker. I laugh at something Bonnie says then look around. I nudge Elena who turns around. Matt is looking at Elena. I feel really badly for him. We have all been friends forever. He and Elena started going out in freshman year, but she broke up with him back in the spring after our parents died. Elena waves at him, but he just grabs a book from his locker and walks away.

Elena turns and leans against the lockers. She sighs and says, "He hates me."

Bonnie grabs a few books and says, "That's not hate. That's 'You dumped me, but I'm too cool to show it, but secretly I'm listening to Air Supply's Greatest Hits.'"

I laugh and am suddenly grabbed and pulled into a bear hug by someone. I jump and hear "Emilia. Elena. Oh my god. How are you? It's so good to see you guys." Caroline lets go of me and pulls Elena into a hug. She lets go and says to Bonnie, "How are they? Are they good?" She pulls me into another bear hug. I laugh and hug her back. I missed my bubbly best friend.

"Caroline, we are right here. We are fine," says Elena.

"Yeah Care. We are fine, but I still need to breathe." She lets me go. "We are great. Thanks.

"Really?"

"Yeah, much better," my twin says.

"Oh, you poor things." Caroline grabs Elena again. I laugh at Elena's face. She doesn't always get along with Caroline, but we love her.

"Okay Caroline," says Elena. Caroline lets her go.

"I'll see you guys later? Ok. Bye." Caroline walks away. I am still giggling at Elena.

"No comment," Elena says.

"I wasn't going to say anything," Bonnie says. I am trying to calm my giggles, but Elena's reaction was just really funny. We continue to walk down the hallways. I start to think of what this year is going to be like. All I can think is that this year will be different. As we pass the front office, I notice someone is there. Bonnie tells us to hold up. "Who is this?"

Elena says, "All I see is his back."

"It's a hot back," I tell her. I look again at the new guy. He is tall and looks built well. From what I can tell, he is very fit and very attractive.

"I'm sensing Seattle and plays the guitar," says Bonnie.

"You are really gonna really run this whole this psychic thing into the ground, huh?" I say.

"Yeah, pretty much," Bonnie says. I notice Elena looking over at the mysterious new guy with a new look on her face. I smile, thinking of all the new possibilities this year could bring. Then, I look over and notice Jeremy going to the bathroom.

"Elena, let's go. We will be right back, Bon." Elena and I walk into the bathroom. We see Jeremy putting drops into his eyes. Elena walks up to Jeremy and gets in his face. She looks into his eyes. "Great. It's the first day of school and you are already stoned."

"No, I'm not." Elena starts to fight Jeremy thinking that he has drugs on him. I stand back, just watching. They keep fighting until Jeremy says, "Look, stop! I don't have anything on me. Are you crazy?"

Then I step in. "You haven't seen crazy. We gave you a summer pass, but that is over. I am done watching you destroy yourself." He goes to get up when Elena stops him.

"You know what. Go ahead. Keep it up, but just know that we will be there every time to ruin your buzz. Got that?" Someone flushes the toilet and the tense mood is slightly broken. She starts to leave when I speak up.

"Jere, I know who you are, and it is not this person. So don't be like this." I give him one of my special looks. The one that makes him know that he is in trouble and that I am disappointed in him.

He looks guilty for a second and then gets up to leave. "I don't need this." He leaves the bathroom. Elena and I look at each other and just sigh.

Elena and I leave the bathroom, with her in front. She bumps into someone. The mysterious stranger from before. He is tall and muscular with brown hair and green eyes. My earlier assumption is right. He is attractive, but by the looks he is giving my sister, totally into her. "Uh, sorry…This is the men's room, right."

"Yes, um. I was just- We were just…um." My sister stumbles over her words.

"My sister is trying to say that we were in the bathroom, because of our brother and some family issues. It's kind of a long story. We are going to get going." I start to walk away with Elena following, but then Elena and the new guy run into each other again. They both try to go the other way, but run into each other again. I am trying really hard not to laugh. He lets her pass. We then walk to class.

"He was totally checking you out," I say to my twin.

"Shut up."

(linebreaklinebreaklinebreak)

Throughout the day, in every class that they share, Elena and Stefan were exchanging glances. I think that it was cute, but slightly annoying. Elena is the pretty one. I am the smart one, so Elena gets all the guys. I have had a few boyfriends, but Elena always gets the guy. Most of the time, I don't mind, but on certain days it is just annoying.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch.2

A/N: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You guys are amazing. I really expected like 2 people to read this. Thank you guys for all your support. I will try to keep updating as fast as I can. This took me shorter than I was expecting. I worked on it all day, so that I could get it out to you guys. I really hope you like it. I apologize for any mistakes.

Disclaimer: (I forgot the first time.) I do not own The Vampire Diaries. I only own the characters of Alliana and Emilia. Anything you recognize is not mine.

Ch.2

Caroline, Bonnie, Elena, Stefan and I were sitting around a table at the Grille. Elena and Stefan were sitting next to each other sneaking glances. Bonnie and I were sending looks to each other. We knew exactly what Elena's and Stefan's glances were about. I thought they were very cute. Caroline was questioning Stefan like the police question a suspect.

"So you were born in Mystic Falls?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah. I moved when I was still young." Stefan replied.

"Parents?"

"My parents passed away." He first looked to Caroline and Bonnie, then to my twin for a much longer time.

"I'm sorry." Stefan nods to her.

"Any siblings?" I ask.

"None that I talk to." Stefan looks over to me when he replies, then back to Elena. I knew that he was totally into her. "I live with my uncle."

Caroline, trying to shift Stefan's attention back to her, tries to start another conversation. "So, Stefan, if you're new than you don't know about the party tomorrow."

"It's this back to school thing they do at the falls," Bonnie says.

"They do it every year. It's a lot of fun," I say.

"Are you going?" Stefan asks my sister.

"Of course she is." Bonnie says. Elena looks at Bonnie and then me. Her eyes asking if she should go. I lightly nod to her, telling her she should go. She looks down, brushes a piece of hair behind her, looks at Stefan, and smiles. They just smile ate each other. I know that they are going only because the other is going. I look down at my phone to check the time.

"Elena, I think we have to go. Jenna is waiting for us." I start to get up. Elena follows looking back towards Stefan.

"Yeah, I should probably be getting back as well. My uncle is waiting." He gets up and grabs his jacket. We all leave together. I walk behind them listening to music and just letting them talk. He walks us home and we thank him. We go inside and I start laughing at my sister.

"You are totally into Stefan! You guys are so cute together. You keep exchanging these glances with each other and staring deep into his eyes. I thought you guys wouldn't notice if Caroline, Bonnie, and I just left. Good thing we left before too late, I didn't want Jenna to get mad at us."

Elena was just laughing and blushing really hard. "Let's just stop talking about it."

"I am so telling Bonnie about this tomorrow."

(linebreaklinebreaklinebreak)

The next day we were in Tanner's History class. He was really hard and very mean. He also never calls on someone when they know the answer. Which means, he never calls on me. In class, we were talking about the Battle of Willow Creek, which happened in Mystic Falls. He was asking different people how many casualties resulted from this war. I knew, but as always, he doesn't call on me. I settled for texting Bonnie about Elena and Stefan, until he called on her.

"Miss Bennett?" Tanner calls on Bonnie.

"Um…a lot? I'm not sure, but like a whole lot." I was dying trying to keep myself from laughing.

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett." Tanner replies. She just looks down and goes back to doodling/texting me.

"Mr. Donovan." Matt looks up. "Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"

"It's okay Mr. Tanner. I'm cool with it." I actually laugh at this one, but very quietly. Mr. Tanner then decides to call on my sister.

"Miss Elena Gilbert. Surely, you can enlighten us about one of this town's most significantly historical events?" My sister just looks at him with a blank face.

"I'm sorry. I don't know." I felt bad for my sister. She really didn't know, but she was also zoned out again. She was probably thinking about either Stefan or our parents. I know she might have been thinking about Stefan, because she was again exchanging glances with him earlier in class. I always know when she is thinking about our parents. As I thought more about it, she probably was not thinking about our parents. She and I always get the same face when we think about them.

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena, but the personal excuses ended with summer break." Tanner's voice broke me out of my thoughts. When he said that, I saw the look on my sister's face. I was about ready to punch him. I could feel myself getting tense. Stefan's voice broke me out of my anger.

"There were 346 casualties, unless you are counting local civilians."

"That's correct, Mister…." Tanner replied.

"Salvatore."

"Salvatore. Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?"

"Distant." I watched as he said this, he got a strange look on his face. I didn't know what it meant. Tanner continued on with his class.

"Well, very good. Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle." Tanner goes to turn back to the board, when Stefan makes him turn back towards him.

"Actually, there were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers, they fired on a church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. The Founder's Archives are, uh, stored in Civil Hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner." The entire class, including me starts chuckling. Mr. Tanner just continued on with the class, looking kind of pissed the entire time.

(linebreaklinebreaklinebreak)

Later that night, we were all at the falls. Some people were dancing, others were making out, and most people were drinking. I was one of them. I don't really like to drink, but at these parties I have like one or two drinks. After those, I am done. I am the designated driver most of the time anyways. Bonnie and Elena were drinking more. Bonnie and I were teasing Elena about Stefan.

"Just admit it, Elena," Bonnie taunts my twin.

"Oh, okay, fine. So he's a little pretty," my twin says.

"Lena, that is a huge understatement and you know it," I say.

"He has that romance novel stare," Bonnie says.

"Stefan looked deep into her eyes, piercing her very soul," I tease. I start laughing at Elena's blushing.

"So, where is he?" Bonnie asks.

"I don't know," Elena replies.

"How much you want to bet that Caroline or some other girl stole him away? Or how about you tell us Bonnie. You are the psychic one," I say.

"Right, I forgot. Okay, give me a sec," Bonnie says. "Grams says I have to concentrate."

"Wait, you need a crystal ball." Elena looks around.

"What about that empty beer bottle?" I ask, while I grab it. "Ta Da. Here, try this." We all laugh. I hand the bottle to Bonnie. When she grabs it, she touched my hand. He eyes open wide very quickly. She stares at me with the wide-eye look for a few seconds. She lets go of my hand very quickly.

"That was weird," she says.

"What?" Elena and I ask at the same time.

"When I touched you, I saw a crow." Elena and I look at each other.

"What?" I ask again.

"A crow. There was fog, and a man." Elena and I just look at each other. We both knew what the other was thinking. "I'm drunk. It's the drinking. There is nothing psychic about it." Bonnie grabs the bottle. Elena and I just keep staring at each other and then at Bonnie. "Yeah, okay. I am going to get a refill." Bonnie starts to walk away. I call after her. Elena and I both turn around to see Stefan.

"Hi." He says to us.

"Hey. I am gonna go after Bonnie. I will find you guys later." I walk away. I search for Bonnie. I find her with Caroline and Matt. I see my brother, Jeremy around somewhere. I know he is probably chasing after Vicki. I didn't mind her too much, because she is Matt's sister. But now that she is into drugs, I don't like her with my brother. He doesn't listen to me, though. I ignore it for now. Bonnie, Caroline, and I talk about the start of the school year and all of our classes. Matt keeps staring at Elena and Stefan who are on the bridge.

"Matty, stop staring. Be happy for her. She isn't as depressed anymore," I say to him. "You saw what she was like after the accident. She blamed herself for going and dragging me with her. I was fine, very sad, but fine. She was so depressed and she didn't want to hurt you. I am so sorry, but I like that Stefan is helping her become more herself."

He just looks towards me and takes a sip of his drink. "I know, it's just that I still love her."

"I know. She loves you to, just not in the same way. You were her first love. She will always love you. You will always love her, but you need to move on. Be happy with someone who will love you the way you want her to forever."

"Thanks, Emmy. I will definitely think about that, but for now I still believe in us."

"You are welcome Matty. Now let's get back to the party." We walk back to the party. I go to talk to Bonnie, while Matt goes to talk to Elena. I see their conversation and I know Matt won't let her go quite yet. I turn back to my conversation with Bonnie, when Caroline walks over to us and starts drinking really heavily.

"Whoa, Caroline slow down," I say to her.

"Guys are stupid." She says.

"This is about Stefan, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I am now going to drink until someone is hot enough to make-out with."

"Have fun with that," Bonnie says to her. I laugh and look over to see my brother stumble into the woods. I see Elena following him.

"I gotta go." I follow them. "Jeremy! Elena!" I call out to them. I find them with Jeremy over Vicki's body. "Oh my god." I look over to see her bleeding from her neck. "Jeremy, help me get her up. I'll put pressure on her wound, while you carry her. Elena, call for help."

We start walking back to the party with Elena calling for someone to help us. Matt and Tyler run over. Everybody tries to crowd around her. Tyler asks for everybody to give her some space. We lay her on a picnic table. My hands are against her neck. I can feel her blood is rushing out from her wound. "It's her neck. Something bit her. She is bleeding really badly. Someone grab me something to help me place pressure on her neck other than just my hands."

"Here, try this." Elena hands me something. Jeremy is trying to get her to open her eyes. I can still feel blood oozing out from her, but at a slightly slower pace. I look up to see Stefan with an alarmed face, leaving very quickly. I look back down at Vicki. Somebody eventually calls an ambulance. When they get there, they lift Vicki up on a stretcher and into the ambulance. I have washed off most of her blood from my hands. The party has mostly been cleared, because the police and animal control is swarming around this area. Elena and I watch as Matt follows Vicki into the ambulance. Bonnie walks over to us.

"Hey we are going to mainline coffee. Wait for some news," she tells us.

"I gotta take Jeremy home," Elena says.

"I'll go with you, Bon," I say.

"Guys, there is no way I'm psychic. I know that. But whatever I saw, or I think I saw, I have this feeling…that it is only the beginning," Bonnie says. I feel slightly nervous by that, but decide to ignore it.

"I'll see you at home. Tell Jenna I will be home in a couple hours," I tell my sister.

"Okay, I will." We say good-bye and go our separate ways. I follow Bonnie and Caroline to the Grille, where we get coffee. Caroline is really drunk.

"Are you sober yet?" I ask my best friend. She lifts her head up and replies.

"Nope."

"Well, keep drinking," Bonnie tells her. "I gotta get you and Emmy home. I gotta get me home."

"Why didn't he go for me?" Caroline asks. Bonnie and I instantly know she is talking about Stefan. "You know how come, the guys that I want, never want me?"

"We are not going to touch that," Bonnie replies.

"I'm inappropriate. I always say the wrong thing. And…Elena always says the right thing." Caroline sighs. She doesn't even know that is exactly how I feel. "She doesn't even try! And he just picks her. And she is always the one that everyone picks, for everything. And I try so hard, and I'm never the one."

"It's not a competition, Caroline," Bonnie tries to comfort her.

"Yeah, it is." Caroline replies.

"Bonnie, why don't you get more coffee. I will talk to Care Bear here," I tell Bonnie. She nods and gets up. "Care, I know that it is really hard to compete against Elena. I should know, I am her twin. I have had to compete against her for almost everything. She will always be the prettier one out of us. But we just have to hope for one day, someone to see past that. There will be someone who will see the amazingness that is Caroline Forbes. You just have to hope that he comes soon. And when he comes, you will know, because you will be his top choice." She hugs me and thanks me. "I am going to find Bonnie. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," she sighs. I get to get Bonnie to take me home. When I get home I find Jeremy on the couch, looking at a picture of our parents. I see Jenna looking at him, silently offering her support. A beautiful picture that I will draw later. I find Elena in her room, sitting on her window seat, writing in her journal. I sit down with her.

"What are you writing about?" I ask.

"I was writing about how I wanted to change. I wanted to be better, more alive," she replies. "But, it is so hard. The bad things of the past always follow you."

"I think that you are more alive. You looked more alive than I have seen ever since Mom and Dad died. And even if you feel like the bad stuff is following you, you just have to be prepared for the good. Because when it does come, and it will, you have to be able to invite it in. We need the good stuff to come, and I know it will, so just invite it in." I nod my head out the window, towards where Stefan is standing. "Invite the good in, Lena. I'll see you in the morning." I give her a hug and go to my room. I start to get ready to go to sleep. I draw the scene with Jenna and Jeremy that I saw before. I think of all the things that have happened today. I can only hope that when my special person comes, I will be able to invite him in like I told Elena. I just have to hope that he will find me.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

A/N: Wow! I am really surprised by all the follows and favorites that this story has gotten. I wasn't expecting this at all. Thank you guys. I'm sorry that this is posted late. I do have a life that sometimes catches up to me. I'm trying to get these chapters out as soon as possible. I would love a few reviews, though. I would really like to know what you guys think about this story. Just take like 3 seconds to write a quick review. Tell me what you like, what you didn't, anything you want to see would be good. Thanks!

Disclaimer: (I actually remembered this time) I do not own The Vampire Diaries. If I did then a lot of people would not be dead and Klaroline would've happened a long time ago. Anything you recognize is not mine.

_Alliana was wandering around the forest. She started first by admiring it, and then wound up lost. She was about to give up and just start calling for help when she stumbled upon a small clearing. The clearing was a field filled with wildflowers. The sun was shining brightly in the field, making the colors look very bright and vibrant. Alliana sat in the field, looking at the clouds, making flower chains and daydreaming. She didn't notice the person watching her. She turned around and spotted their silhouette._

"_Hello. Who is out there? You don't have to stand in the shadows," she calmly spoke to the person. The person walked out into the sunlight. "Oh. Hello, Elijah. Is that correct? You are one of Rebekah's older brothers."_

"_Yes, that is my name. Hello, Alliana."_

"_What were you doing just standing in the shadows?"_

"_I was wandering around the woods, when I walked here. I saw you just calmly sitting there. I was not in the shadows for very long."_

"_I love it here. It is very calm and peaceful. I love the beauty of it. I could spend all of my time here." She looks towards the lowering sun. "Oh, it appears I have spent a much longer time here than I expected. It is very late in the afternoon. I have to return to my aunt to help with supper." She gets up to leave. Elijah follows._

"_Here let me accompany you. I will help you to get home safely."_

"_Thank you. I am glad you asked. I feared I may have become lost."_

"_There is no need." They start walking through the forest. Elijah leading, with Alliana following closely behind. They walked across branches and rocks. Elijah helping Alliana over very tricky terrain. They still continued their conversation._

"_Have you happened across this place before?"_

"_Yes, it is my place to think."_

"_Oh, I apologize if I have intruded."_

"_No, it is fine. I do not mind sharing from time to time."_

"_I love to lose myself. Just let myself be free like a bird. I wish to be able to fly, to be able to go anywhere. I would also like to be free from time, to never age. I would love to have all the time in the world to see new things and meet new people."_

"_That is a wonderful daydream, I suppose."_

"_You do not have to be serious all the time Elijah. I apologize for being forward, but would you like to be my friend. I will help you learn to have fun."_

"_Yes. I would like that."  
_

I woke up the next morning. I got dressed and ready for school. I walk out my door to see Jenna talking about how she looks to Elena.

"Do I look adult? As in respectfully parental?" Jenna asks Elena.

"Depends on where you are going," Elena replies.

"Jeremy's parent-teacher conference. Hair up or down?" Jenna pulls her hair up into a ponytail.

"Sexy stewardess," I say, joining the conversation. Elena looks over to me and smiles. She looks more herself than I have seen in a really long time. I knew Stefan was a good influence. Jenna puts her hair back down into its regular copper ringlets.

"Boozy Housewife," my sister says. I laugh.

"Up it is." Jenna says. "You are feisty today."

"I know, right?" I say.

"I feel good, which is rare. So, I have decided to go with it," Elena says.

"Amen to that. Fly free, sister. Walk on sunshine and all that," I say. "Where is Jeremy?"

"He left early." Jenna says, fixing her hair, while looking in the mirror. "Something about getting to wood shop early to finish a birdhouse." Elena and I both pause, with confused faces. "There is no wood shop, is there?" I shake my head.

"He is probably checking on Vicki. He saved her last night, when she got attacked by an animal. He is totally into her. I am sure he is fine."

(linebreaklinebreaklinebreak)

After Tanner's class I walked quickly past my twin and Stefan talking. They were again making googly eyes at each other throughout class. I heard a quick snippet of their conversation. Something about the Bronte sisters and their pseudo-names. I love reading their stories. Stefan apparently has one of the original copies. I know my sister would love to read it. I quickly walk to my best friends who were walking the opposite direction. They were in different conversation. They were again talking about Bonnie being psychic. I still don't quite believe it, even after that whole episode last night.

"I'm confused. Are you psychic or clairvoyant?" my bubbly, blonde best friend says.

"Technically, Grams says I'm a witch. My ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something," my brunette best friend says.

"Whoa, that would be so cool. Imagine if you were a witch. You would have so much cool power," I say to them. I join them, walking towards our next class.

"I don't know. Grams tried to explain it all, but she was kind of looped on the liquor, so I kind of tuned out. Crazy family, yes. Witches, I don't think so," Bonnie says.

"Yeah, well, feel free to conjure up the name and number of that guy from last night." Caroline says.

"I didn't see him. Neither did Emmy. Only you did him," Bonnie says.

"Why didn't you talk to him?" I ask Caroline.

"I don't know. I was drunk." We all laugh at her.

"That you were," I say.

(Linebreaklinebreaklinebreak)

Later that day, Elena and I were walking with Matt, asking about Vicki. He says that she will make a full recovery. I ask if he has contacted his mom. His mom, Kelly is never around. She was polite to me, and loved Elena.

"Called and left a message." Matt says to us. "She's in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend. So, we'll see how long it takes for her to come rushing home."

"I'm really sorry Matt, but how much you wanna bet that she doesn't even come home at all," I say to him.

"Well, Vicki is lucky to be alive," my sister says. We walk past Stefan who was sitting on a picnic table.

"I know. Now, there is talk about some missing campers," Matt replies.

"There sure has been a lot of missing people and animal attacks all of a sudden," I say.

My sister sort of ignores me and continues to talk to Matt. I wish she wouldn't do that. I know she doesn't mean to, but I feel she is playing with Matt's feelings. "Did she say what kind of animal is was that attacked her?" she asks.

"She said it was a vampire," Matt replies.

"What? That would either be very cool or very bad. There is a lot of supernatural talk today. With Bonnie's family supposedly descended from witches and Vicki getting attacked by a vampire, what is next? Werewolves and ghosts?" I say.

"Well, she woke up last night mutters 'Vampire' and then passes out," Matt says.

"What? That is crazy," my twin says.

"I think that she was drunk," Matt says. That would explain Vicki's episode. "So what's up with you and the new guy?" Matt asks Elena. I sigh and turn to Matt. I knew he wouldn't let go.

"Matt, the last thing that I want to do is hurt you," my twin utters. I can see Matt's face fall for one second.

"I'm actually going to go back to the hospital. I'll see you guys later." Matt walks away. Elena just sighs. I turn to see Stefan has left. That was weird.

(linebreaklinebreaklinebreak)

Bonnie, Caroline, Elena, and I were later at the Grille talking about the comet. Every 145 years, a comet passes over Mystic Falls. The last time it passed was in 1864. I can't help but imagine what life would have been like back then. I really like history. To be able to have experienced those things must have been amazing. Bonnie was talking about how her Grams said that the comet is a sign of evil. Last time it passed through the sky, there was so much death that it caused a bed of paranormal activity.

"Yeah, and then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about the aliens," Caroline sarcastically replies. "So then what?" Caroline asks Elena about Stefan.

"Then nothing."

"You and Stefan talked all night?" Caroline asks her. "There was no sloppy first kiss? Or touchy feely of any kind?"

"Nope. We didn't go there."

"Not even a handshake? I mean, Elena, we are your friends. You are supposed to share the smut." I laugh at this. Caroline is very blunt at times, which is part of the reason why she is my best friend.

"We just talked for hours."

Okay, what is with the blockage? Just jump his bones already. It's easy." I know she is going to say the boy-girl-sex thing. "Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Sex." I knew it.

"Profound," my twin says. She stops folding flyers for a second. I know she is thinking about it. Good thing I have music and headphones. I know when she gets up that we are going to the Salvatore's house.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asks.

"Caroline's right. It is easy. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it, instead of doing what I started the day saying I was going to do." She gets up to leave.

"Wait for me. You are my ride. I will just listen to music and draw until you are ready to go. Besides, I want to see their house. I hear it is really cool," I say.

"Fine. Come on them. Let's go." I follow her into the car. We drive over to their house. I have to admit that the Salvatore house is amazing, even from the outside. We go to knock on the door, when it opens. We walk into the empty house with Elena calling out for Stefan. We look around. The house is even more impressive on the inside. Very antique. I love antique things. They always have a story. We turn back to the door, when a crow flies past us. We turn around and run into a very hard chest. I look up and see the brightest blue eyes I have ever seen in my life. The man just smirks at us.

"We are so sorry for barging in. The door was open and we walked in," I say. We turn around to find the door closed. Creepy, but oh well.

"You must be Elena…and Emilia." He smiles at us. "I'm Damon, Stefan's brother."

"Oh, you are the sibling he doesn't talk to," I say.

Elena just looks at him confused. "He didn't tell me he had a brother."

"Well, Stefan's not one to brag. Please, come. I'm sure Stefan will be along any minute." He leads us into their large and spacious living room. Elena and I look around in amazement.

"Wow. This is your living room?" I say.

"Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction. It is a little kitschy for my taste," Damon says.

"I really like it," I say.

Damon turns to look at Elena. "I see why my brother's so smitten. It's about time. For a while there, I never he'd get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him." When he said this, I started to get suspicious of him. He seemed too keen to talk bring up Stefan's ex.

"The last one?" Elena asks.

"Yeah. Katherine, his girlfriend?" Elena subtly shakes her head. "Oh, you haven't had the awkward exes talk yet."

Elena shrugs awkwardly. "Nope."

"Well, I'm sure it'll come up now. Or maybe he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound." Elena shakes her head. I just keep looking at Damon suspiciously trying to figure out his angle. "We all know how those relationships end."

"You seem way too eager to talk about Katherine," I say.

Elena just ignores me. I am kind of used to it now, I guess. "You say it like every relationship is doomed to end."

"I'm a fatalist." He smirks at Elena. They just ignore me. "Hello, Stefan." Elena and I both turn around to see Stefan standing behind us. He has a very strange look on his face.

"Elena. Emilia. I didn't know you guys were coming over," he says.

"I know we should've called, we just.." Elena starts.

"Oh, don't be silly. You are welcome any time. Aren't they, Stefan?" I could tell he was taunting Stefan in some way, but I couldn't tell how. My sister remained mostly oblivious. "You know I should break out the family albums, or some home movies. But, I have to warn you. He wasn't always such a looker."

"Thank you for stopping by, Elena. Emilia." Stefan says looking at Damon. I could tell my name was an afterthought. Why am I always forgotten? I sometimes feel no one compares to Elena. "Nice to see you two."

I realize that this would be a good time to leave. Stefan and Damon clearly were having an issue. I grab my sister and say, "Yeah, we should probably go. It was nice to meet you Damon."

Damon looks to me, grabs my hand, and kisses it. I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. He does the same to my sister. We try to say goodbye to Stefan, but all he does is move away to let us pass. The entire time he was having an intense stare down with his brother. As soon as we get home, I knew exactly what to do. I went to the kitchen, opened the freezer, and grabbed the ice cream. I knew it was time for some sundaes. Elena also needed to vent about that awkward situation. Jenna walked over to us and Elena starts venting.

"He is on the rebound and has raging family issues," Elena vents while making a sundae. I am eating ice cream straight from the carton.

"At least it's an ex-girlfriend issue," Jenna says. "Wait until you meet a guy with mommy issues."

"Or cheating issues," I say.

"Or amphetamine issues," Jenna adds. Elena shrugs and starts eating her sundae, when Jeremy walks in. "Jeremy." Jenna calls. He just ignores her and walks up the stairs. "Jeremy, where were you?"

"More stoner stories? Look, I get it. You were cool. And so that's…that's cool." He gives her a thumbs up and continues to walk up the stairs.

"Oh no no no." Jenna says. She throws her apple at his back.

"Ow! Why? Why did you do that?" Jeremy asks.

"Listen up!" Jenna yells at him. "Quit ditching class or you're grounded. No discussion."

"Parental authority. I like it. Sleep tight." He says. I feel saddened to see this. Jeremy was such a great kid before all of this happened. I miss seeing that side of Jeremy. Our family would have these peaceful moments. We used to both sit around and draw. My father would work on his patients' charts. Mom would be reading or cooking. Elena would be writing in her journal or reading like our mother. I really miss these family moments. I continue to eat my ice cream.

(linebreaklinebreaklinebreak)

Later the next day, Bonnie, Elena, and I were passing out flyers for the comet that night. Elena was again talking about Stefan.

"Tonight, night of the comet," I say.

"Would you like a program?" Bonnie asks. We hand out a couple flyers to people. "He didn't call, huh?"

"Or text," my twin says. "But I realized we never even exchanged that stuff. We've never gotten to the texting part."

"That is an important milestone in any relationship," I say.

"Isn't it? The timing is wrong, anyway," Elena says.

"When is it ever right?" Bonnie asks.

"I'm not ready, guys."

"Who is?" I say.

"At least I put myself out there."

"Is that what you are calling it?" Bonnie asks.

"What do you mean?" my sister asks.

"All we're hearing are reasons why you can't," I say. We turn back around to pass out more flyers.

That night I was standing with Caroline and Matt. We were holding candles to celebrate the night of the comet. Caroline handed a few to Bonnie and Elena. My candle was lit by Matt, who then lights Elena's candle. I see her turn around and lights Stefan's. The go a little ways away to talk. I know that she is trying to distance herself from Stefan, not wanting to get hurt. I can understand why she would try to do that, but I wish she wouldn't. I have seen how happy Stefan makes her and I wish she would just be happy. I go to light other people's candles. Bonnie, Caroline, and I walk around and talk. I know we are excited to see the comet. I only wish my parents were here to see it. I am trying to remember the sight of it. I hope it will be a memory that will stay with me forever.

Bonnie, Caroline, Elena, Matt, Tyler, and I were at the Grille. Jeremy walks up to us and asks about Vicki. Tyler says something about Jere being her stalker. Jeremy then says that he couldn't find her. The Tyler says something that really gets me worried and pissed.

"She probably found someone else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher. I guess you've been replaced."

"What's with the pill pusher?" my sister asks.

"Ask him" is all that Tyler says. I look over to Jeremy. He looks really mad at Tyler.

"You really wanna do this right now?" Jeremy says.

"Are you dealing?" I ask.

"She's never going to go for you." Tyler says. Ugh, he is such a dick.

"She already did. Over and over again," my brother replies. I just stare at my brother. When did he turn into this person?

"Yeah, right." Tyler says.

"You slept with Vicki Donovan?" Caroline adds. "I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?"

"There is no way," Tyler says.

"And I didn't even have to force her into it," my brother replies. Tyler looks mad.

"What the hell is he talking about, Ty?" Matt asks.

"Nothing, man. Just ignore him. He's a punk," Tyler replies.

"You know what? How about all of you just shut up and help me find my sister?" Matt says. Everyone splits up to go in separate directions. Elena and I grab Jeremy before he can leave.

"So that's your game now? Dealing?" Elena asks.

"I'm not dealing." Jeremy replies.

"Look, I'm sick of the tough love act. It is clearly having no impact." I say.

"You guys and Jenna. Between the group of you.."

"We can stop if you want. Send you to a therapist, where you'll be forced to deal with it. Or, to rehab, where you'll sit in a group and tell some stranger how you let your life fall apart. Or you could talk to us." I say.

"I vote for none of the above." Jeremy says as he walks away. Elena and I just look at each other. We are both beyond frustrated with Jeremy. We go home calling for Jeremy. We find Jenna searching through Jeremy's room.

"It's only me. Hypocrite patrol." Jenna says, standing up straight.

"What are you doing?" Elena asks her.

"I have become my worst nightmare. The authority figure, who has to violate a 15-year-old's privacy." Jenna looks around the room until she spots Jeremy's bag. She searches through it until she finds Jeremy's stash. "Jackpot. I see the hiding places haven't gotten any more creative." She lifts up Jeremy's shoe, where she must have found it.

"What brought this on?" I ask.

"Your ass-hat of a history teacher shamed me good yesterday," she replies.

"Oh, you got Tannered. Been there," I say, while sitting down on one of Jere's seats.

"'Discover the impossible, Ms. Sommers.' Got it. Thanks, like I didn't know I was screwing up."

"You are not screwing up, Aunt Jenna." I say.

"Yes, I am. You know why?" We both shake our heads. "Because I'm not her. She made everything look so easy. You know, high school, marriage, having you guys. I can't do it. I'm going to say or do the wrong thing and he is going to get worse and it is going to be my fault." Jenna says this with tears in her eyes. "It is impossible."

"That is just the fear talking. You're a little scared. That's all," Elena says.

"The same goes for you, sister." I say. "We all are." I know as I say this she has reconsidered her thing with Stefan. "Go to him." I whisper to her.

"I have to go do something." Elena says. Jenna nods her permission. "But are you going to be okay?"

"We'll be fine. Go." I say. I hug Jenna and we go downstairs. We watch some television for a while until I go upstairs to my room. I finish my drawing of Jenna and Jeremy. I also work some more on the one of my parents. I think about them a lot, and the thought of me still makes me sad. There are some days when all I want to do is escape. To be free of the past, like my sister said a little while ago. I feel so lost without them. I'm so scared that no one will find me.

A/N: Sorry this chapter took longer. I am going to try to have an episode a chapter. These may take a little longer. Please be patient. Thank you guys so much.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4

A/N: Thank you guys for all your favorites and follows. Again, a few more reviews do not hurt. I'm sorry for being like every other author and asking for reviews, but I would really like to know what you guys think about this. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries. Anything you recognize is not mine.

_Alliana was running through the forest. She now knows her way through the forest. She spots a good place to hide. She starts to quickly climb the tree. She hears footsteps coming in her direction. Closer and closer they come. She hears a voice calling for her._

"_Alliana. Come out now. You know I am going to find you soon," the voice tells her. She tries to blend in even more. The person walks away from her. She sighs in relief and climbs down from the tree._

"_Got you!"_

_Alliana gasps in surprise. "Fine Kol. You win this time." Kol laughs and stands up proudly._

"_You actually took a little bit longer to find. I found Henrik very quickly."_

"_That is because Henrik does not know the best hiding spots. I do know where they are and can then hide from you."_

"_Yes, but I got you to reveal yourself, did I not?" Kol asks._

"_Of course you did, because you are Kol the almighty trickster." Alliana teases him._

"_Do not boost his ego. It is big enough already," a different voice says behind her. Alliana turns to find Elijah and Rebekah. "It is, of course, quite alright to tease him about it," Elijah says._

"'_Lijah, that is just mean," Kol replies._

"_But so very true," Alliana adds. Kol just pouts and the other three people just laugh at him. _

"_Since it is so difficult to find Alliana, she must be the seeker this time," Rebekah states. All agree very quickly._

"_Very well, but Elijah has to play with us this time," Alliana says. Elijah tries to refuse. Henrik walks up at this time._

"_Elijah is actually going to play?" He asks excitedly. Elijah looks to Henrik and then to Alliana who is making pleading eyes at him. He concedes. Alliana starts to count, while everyone hides. She counts for a minute before going to search for everyone. She finds Henrik quickly behind a log, because he was laughing. Kol was found next, because his foot was sticking out from a bush. Rebekah was found behind a boulder. She got bored and started to braid her hair more. Elijah was harder to find. He kept switching behind different trees. Eventually, Alliana just starts walking slowly around the area which Elijah was hiding in. Elijah gets very confused as to why she was not really searching for him._

"_Why are you not trying harder to find me?" He asks._

_Alliana simply smiles and states, "If I find you, then the game would be over." He simply laughs. "I don't want to stop playing the game, yet."_

I was getting out of Bonnie's car at school. I was again talking about Stefan with Bonnie and Elena, who was constantly the topic of discussion these days. We were at school and Bonnie was trying to warn Elena about something.

"I'm not saying don't date the guy. I'm just saying take it slow," Bonnie says.

Elena looks at her and I, "You guys were the ones who said go for it."

"I am all for you going for it. Bonnie is the one who is saying 'take it slow'," I say.

"Why the about-face?" Elena asks Bonnie.

"It's not an about face. You are single for the first time in your entire high school career. It's the perfect time to play the field," Bonnie replies.

"Yeah, because Elena is totally that girl," I say defending my sister.

"Seriously, what are you not saying?" my sister asks Bonnie.

"It's stupid," Bonnie says trying to brush us off. We all stop and turn to her.

"Bonnie, just spit it out," I say.

"I accidently touched Stefan and got a really bad feeling," she says, looking kind of guilty and embarrassed.

"Is that it?" Elena asks. I could tell Bonnie was feeling bad about this, but I really like Elena being with Stefan. Bonnie tries to walk away when Elena grabs her arm, "Bonnie!"

"It was bad-bad." Bonnie tries to defend herself.

"Is this the whole witchy mojo thing again?" I ask.

"You know what I am just concerned. This is me expressing concern about one of my best friends' new boyfriend," Bonnie says.

"And I love you for it, I do." Elena says while she grabs Bonnie's shoulders. They smile at each other. "But I feel good. It's been a hard year, for both of us, and I am starting to kind of feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what, Stefan is a big part of that." Bonnie just sighs. We continue to walk towards the school and our classes, when Stefan walks over to us.

"Good morning, Elena," he says. "Good morning, Bonnie, Emilia."

Bonnie just starts to walk away. "Um, I gotta find Caroline. She's not answering her phone."

I turn to her. "Hey, wait up. I'll come with." I turn back to Stefan and Elena. "We'll catch you guys later." Bonnie and I keep walking towards school.

We were in Tanner's class. He was asking about different important dates in history. Most of which I knew, but as usual he ignores me.

"World War II ended in…..Anyone got anything?" Mr. Tanner asks. I raise my hand, but he ignores me. "Miss Juan?" Carla Juan just shrugs.

I finally get fed up and just blurted it out. "1945." I hear Elena and Stefan whispering next to me about the football team. Elena starts giggling when Tanner asks her a question.

"Miss Elena Gilbert?" She turns around to face the front of the room and Tanner. "Pearl Harbor?" Of course he couldn't just ask me. Elena tries to come up with an answer she obviously doesn't have. Stefan just answers for her.

"December 7th, 1941." Elena smiles at him.

"Thank you, Miss Elena Gilbert." Tanner says, stressing her name.

"Anytime," Stefan replies.

Tanner must have seen this as a challenge, because he replies with, "Very well. The fall of Berlin Wall."

Stefan simply answers, "1989. I'm good with dates, sir."

"Are you?" Tanner asks. Stefan nods. "How good? Keep it to the year." Here is the challenge apparently. "Civil Rights Act."

"1964."

"John F. Kennedy assassination."

"1963."

"Martin Luther King."

"'68." Tanner starts walking closer and closer to Stefan each time he mentions a new event.

"Lincoln."

"1865"

"Roe vs. Wade"

"1973"

"Brown vs. Board"

"1954."

"The Battle of Gettysburg"

"1863"

"Korean War."

"1950-1953"

"Ha! It ended in '52." The entire class chuckles. Tanner goes back to the front of the classroom.

"Uh, actually, sir, it was '53." Tanner turns around to Stefan.

"Look it up, somebody." Tanner says through clenched teeth. The entire class moves to look it up. "Quickly."

Kyle, another kid in the class looks it up on his phone and says, "It was 19…53." The class tries to clap, but it winds up being kind of pitiful. I am very impressed. That was kind of awesome.

Afterschool, Elena and I go to cheer practice for the first time since our parents died. I knew we were going to behind, because we missed summer camp, but I learn these things pretty quickly. We are walking over to Bonnie who was stretching. I clear my throat loudly and Bonnie turns around and spots us.

"Oh my god! You guys are here!" She says while hugging us both.

"Yep. We can't be these sad girls forever," I say.

"The only way to get back to the way they were, are to do things that were," my sister says. We start to stretch. "Oh, and you are both coming to dinner tonight."

"We are?" Bonnie and I say.

"Mhmm. You, me, Emilia, and Stefan." Bonnie's face falls. Elena turns to see her face. "You have to give him a chance."

"But tonight's no good." Bonnie complains. Elena and I just give her a look. She changes the topic. "Have you seen Caroline? I texted her like a hundred times."

"I have been texting her too. She hasn't answered me either." I say.

"Don't change the subject, Bonnie Bennett. You're going to be there," Elena says.

"Fine! I'll go," Bonnie replies. Elena looks at me.

"I'm cool with this. This should be interesting," I say.

"Good," Elena says. We all continue to stretch. I am actually starting to worry about her. She always answers my texts and calls, but today she isn't. I am seriously curious as to where she is. Bonnie starts to think along the same lines as I was.

"Seriously, where is Caroline?" Bonnie asks.

"I don't know. It's not like her." My twin says.

"Try her again." I say. Bonnie sighs and picks up her phone to try to call Caroline. Bonnie doesn't have to finish that call, because Caroline comes driving up in an awesome convertible. We all turn to face Caroline and what looks like Damon, who were kissing in his car. A car that I really want to have or drive. If only the owner wasn't such a creeper.

"That must be the mystery guy from the Grille." Bonnie says.

"That's no mystery guy," my sister says.

"That's Damon Salvatore." I say.

"Salvatore, as in Stefan?" Bonnie asks.

"Yup. His older brother," I say. Caroline gets out of his car and saunters over.

"I got the other brother. Hope you don't mind." Caroline says as she passes by us. She walks over to the front of the group. "I'm sorry I'm late, girls. I, uh, was busy. All right, let's start with the Double Pike Herkey Hurdler. What do you say?" I look over at Damon who just smirks at me. I roll my eyes at him and focus back on cheer practice. We were doing a routine to STARSTRUKK by 3OH!3 ft. Katy Perry. Elena and I were struggling with it. I was sort of picking it up, but Elena was struggling to keep up.

Caroline notices her struggling and says, "Elena, why don't you just observe today? 'K?" Elena just stops and goes to the back. "Keep going! Okay. Do it again. Let's go. And 5,6,7,8." Elena watches and tries to copy the moves to learn them. I have picked up most of the routine by the second time we got through it. Elena gets distracted and leaves partway through it to watch the football practice. I guess Stefan joined the team after all.

Bonnie, Elena, and I were getting ready for dinner. Bonnie was again talking about being psychic or a witch. Elena was getting food ready. I was sitting on the counter, listening to Bonnie, and drawing. I was drawing my best friends, Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena in one picture. Bonnie was going on about predicting a commercial.

"You explain it," Bonnie says. "Last night, I was watching 'Nine-O,' a commercial break comes on, and I'm like 'I bet it's that phone commercial!' and sure enough it's that guy and girl with the bench. He flies to Paris, and he flies back. They take a picture."

"Oh, come on. That commercial's on a constant loop," Elena says. She hands a platter of food to Bonnie to help her unpack it.

"Fine. Well, how about this? Today, I'm obsessed with numbers. Three numbers. I keep seeing 8, 14, and 22. How weird is that?" Bonnie says.

"Maybe we should play the lottery," I say from my spot on the counter. Elena and I laugh.

"Have you talked to your Grams?" Elena asks.

"She just gonna say it's because I am a witch. I don't want to be a witch. Do you want to be a witch?" Bonnie says.

"I don't want to be a witch," my twin says.

"I would like to be a witch. Imagine just what you could do. You could bring someone to their knees with a wave of your hand. You could probably explode things with your mind, or make someone fly across the room. Just imagine how powerful you could be," I say sort of wistfully. Elena just keeps putting the food into nice bowls.

"Putting it in a nice bowl isn't fooling anybody," Bonnie tells her.

"Ok, serving spoons. Where are the serving spoons?" my twin asks.

Bonnie answers before I could tell her. "Middle drawer on your left." Elena gives her a look and opens the drawer. She takes out the serving spoons. We both look at Bonnie astonished.

"Okay, so you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times," Elena says.

"Yeah, that's it," Bonnie says.

"Especially since you live here and you didn't know where the serving spoons are," I say.

"You are the one who uses the kitchen to cook. I'm not in here as much," Elena replies. The doorbell rings before I can answer her. "Okay, he's here. Don't be nervous. Just be your normal loving self." Elena leaves to go answer the door. Bonnie just stares at me wide-eyed for a few seconds. She puts down the serving spoon she was holding.

"Birthday candles," she says. She waits a second and opens the drawer. I hop down from the counter and rush over to her side. Sure enough, the birthday candles were in the drawer.

I look to her and smile. "That is so cool!" Bonnie just kind of stares at me. Elena then walks in with Stefan and we sit down to eat.

The dinner was kind of awkward. We were all sitting around the table, picking at our food. I try to start another conversation, "So Stefan, I heard you joined the football team."

My sister adds on, "Did Tanner give you a hard time today?"

"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right," Stefan replies. Elena and I chuckle.

Elena turns to Bonnie. "Bonnie, you should've seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him, and"

Bonnie interrupts, "Yeah, I heard." We all kind of look around awkwardly. I try to start a conversation again.

"So Bonnie why don't you tell Stefan about your family?" I say.

Bonnie turns to him. "Divorced. No mom. Live with my dad." Stefan just nods his head.

"No, I meant about the witches," I say. "Bonnie's family is supposedly from a lineage of witches. I think it is super cool."

"Cool isn't the word I'd use," Bonnie says.

"Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too versed, but I do know there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800's," Stefan says.

"My family came by way of Salem," Bonnie replies.

Stefan looks at her with an interested face. "Really. Salem witches?" He asks her. Bonnie just nods her head and smiles, slightly embarrassed. "I would say that's pretty cool." He says to Elena and I.

"Really? Why?" Bonnie asks Stefan.

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and non-conformity," Stefan replies.

"Yeah, they are." Bonnie says.

"See Bonnie. I told you witches are cool," I say. The doorbell rings.

"I wonder who that could be." Elena says as she gets up and gets the door. I stay at the table and started to clean up. Stefan gets up to find out who was at the door. I go to find out myself when Caroline enters.

"Hey. Damon and I brought dessert," Caroline says. I love my best friend, but I don't like Damon. I did not really want him here, but with my sister dating Stefan, I guess I will have to deal with Damon.

Everyone was sitting in the living room. We had eaten dessert and were now just relaxing. Caroline was going on about Stefan joining the team. Damon was still being very strange. Everything he says seems to have a double meaning. I stopped focusing on Damon and went back to listening to my best friend.

"I cannot believe Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething. But good for you. Go for it," she says.

Damon adds in, "That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."

Caroline decides to also add in, "Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp, even though Emmy got it. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines." My best friend can be kind of cruel sometimes.

Bonnie decides to add in, "I'll work with her. She'll get it."

Caroline being her decides to open her mouth again, "I guess we can put her in the back."

Damon says, "You don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena."

"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died. Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun." Caroline says. Then, she finally realizes what she said was mean. "And I say that with complete sensitivity."

"I'm sorry, Elena. And you too, Emilia. I know what it is like to lose both your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die." Again, what is with the double meanings? Why is he saying things like that?

"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon," Stefan says.

"Ah, you know what, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up," Damon says. I knew he was taunting Stefan about something. When Damon says this, I know that something happened between both of them and Katherine, Stefan's ex-girlfriend.

"Which is exactly why you brought her up just now," I say sarcastically. Damon just kind of looks at me puzzled. Damon then just smirked at Stefan.

I was doing the dishes. Everyone else was in the living room just relaxing. Damon walked over.

"One more," he says. He goes to hand me one glass. I try to grab it when it slips, and Damon grabs it quickly.

"Wow. Good reflexes," I say laughing. "Nice save."

"I like you and your sister. You guys know how to laugh. And your sister makes Stefan smile, which is something I haven't seen in a very long time."

"Earlier, did you mean Katherine?" I ask as I put a dish in the dish washer. Damon grabs it from me and puts it in for me.

He answers me with a "Mhmm."

"How did she die?" I ask.

"In a fire. Tragic fire," he replies.

"Recently?"

"Well, it seems like it was yesterday."

"What was she like?"

He takes a moment to answer. "She was beautiful, much like you and your sister in that department." I roll my eyes at this. "She was just very complicated and selfish, and at times not very kind. But very sexy and seductive." Oh, I get it now.

"So which one of you dated her first?" I ask while handing him a plate.

"Nicely deduced," he says. "Ask Stefan. I'm sure his answer differs from mine."

"Oh, is that the reason for the double meanings behind almost everything you said. You want to get back at Stefan for falling in love with her as well, which probably caused something to happen, which eventually lead to her death." Damon just looks at me. He changes the subject.

"I'd tell your sister to quit cheerleading if I were you."

"Why would you say that?" I say sort of defensive towards him.

"Oh, I saw you guys at practice. You looked fine, but she looked miserable."

"You saw that too, huh?"

"Am I wrong?"

"Nope. I love to dance and cheer, and Elena used to love it. It was fun. Things are different. Everything that used to matter doesn't anymore, not to either of us. There are still things that I love to do, but things are different for Elena."

"So don't let it. Tell her to move on. You do the same as well. Problem solved. Ta-Da."

"Some things could matter again. I know writing still does, maybe cheerleading will too."

"Maybe. But…seems a little unrealistic to me." I thought about it for a second.

"I'm sorry." Damon just looks at me. "You lost Katherine too." Bonnie and Elena walk in before he can answer to help with the dishes. Damon leaves to go back to Caroline and Stefan, who were still in the living room. Eventually, Caroline joins us as well. We all just were hanging in the kitchen until it was time to leave.

The next day, Elena and I were getting ready for the game. I was already ready to go, other than my hair. Elena was staring at her uniform, dressed in her towel. I could tell she was debating whether or not she should actually keep going. I knew this was a good time to talk to her.

"'Lena. I think we need to talk."

"Yeah, what's up?" she asks.

"I think you should really talk about you and cheerleading."

"What about it?"

"'Lena, you are not happy doing it anymore. We aren't the same girls as we were last year. Our parents died and that changed us. Writing just isn't the same for me as it was when Mom and Dad were alive. Cheerleading just isn't as fun as it was for you anymore, and that is okay. You aren't totally different. You are still my older sister, my twin. You still love writing in your journal and gossiping about stuff with Bonnie, Caroline, and I. I am still Lia. Your little twin sister. I still love drawing, music, dancing, and cheerleading. But I don't want to write my stupid little stories anymore. I will leave the writing to you. It is what Mom would've wanted anyway. You were always the better one at it. You no longer have to do cheerleading anymore. You don't have to do the same things you used to do to be normal. You just have to be yourself and be happy."

"I love you, 'Lia." My sister says as she hugs me tight.

"I love you too, 'Lena. I'll let you decide what to do. But first, can you please do my hair? You have always been so good at it."

"Sure."

That night, I was at the bonfire for the game. I was standing with the other cheerleaders, while my sister was standing off to another side, not in her uniform. I knew that was going to be her decision, while she was doing my medium-brown long hair. She was pulling it into multiple braids that all went into a high ponytail, when she paused for a second. I knew that was when she made the decision.

At the bonfire, we were cheering for Stefan and the rest of the football team. I could tell Tyler was getting pissed. I knew he and my brother were having an issue, so when I saw Tyler head over towards my brother, I knew there was going to be trouble. I could see Jeremy was drinking, and I couldn't help but feel disappointed. It is my fault that he is acting this way. Maybe if I had focused more on Jeremy after our parents died, he wouldn't be acting like this. I could only hope that no one would be too hurt after this. I could see Vicki trying to stop Tyler, but it wasn't deterring him. I saw the fight start by Jeremy punching Tyler. The dick probably said something to Jeremy to set him off. It was probably about Vicki. I could see them trying to beat the crap out of each other. Elena and I, along with many other people, walked over to try to see what is going on. I could see Tyler punching my brother while he was on the ground. Stefan grabs Tyler's arm before he could keep punching Jeremy. Tyler punches Stefan in the stomach, but Stefan just doesn't respond. Or he just doesn't hurt him. Tyler stares at Stefan's reaction. This gives Jeremy enough time to grab a broken bottle that must have shattered before. He grabs a piece and stands up. Tyler again tries to fight Stefan, but Stefan just knocks him away. He pushes him away right as Jeremy slashes the broken bottle piece. I see it cut Stefan's hand. Jeremy stares at Stefan. Matt gets Tyler away to calm him down. Elena and I go straight to Jeremy. I check him out while Elena goes back to Stefan. When I look away for one second to check on Stefan, Jeremy leaves. I look around, but first check on Stefan. I look at his hand, which doesn't seem to be injured. Odd. I could've sworn he got hurt.

I go back to the other cheerleaders. Tiki, one of the other cheerleaders, was having trouble keeping the sign up. Caroline and I both go to help her. I could see my twin talking with Bonnie. I was curious, so I ask Bonnie.

"Hey, what were you and Elena talking about?"

"She was asking about the weird feeling I got when I touched Stefan."

"What was it?" I ask.

"It what I imagine death to feel like," she replies.

"Wow. Creepy," I reply. "I have to go find Jeremy. He is injured and escaped from me earlier. Can you cover for me with Caroline?"

"Yeah, sure. Good luck finding him," Bonnie says. I smile at her and start looking around. I look in the bleachers, around the field and all over, but I can't find him. I finally look by the locker rooms. He wouldn't be in the locker rooms, I know that. I go to look behind the locker room building when I see something I know I shouldn't have. I see Damon with his mouth on Tanner's neck. I see Tanner drop when Damon removes his mouth. I only see Damon's face for one quick second while he turns around, but what I did see looked so scary. His mouth was very bloody and his eyes were dark. It looked like something out of a horror movie. I run away from that spot trying to understand what just happened. I can't understand what happened. I just try to continue to look for Jeremy. I hear a little while later that the game is cancelled. Tanner got attacked by an animal. My only question was did it happen before or after Damon was there? Everyone clears out when they hear the game is cancelled. I find Jeremy behind the bleachers with a cool can against his face. I saw Vicki a little walks away. I knew they had some sort of touchy feely conversation. I nudge Jeremy with my foot and sit down next to him.

"I know you are into her, Jeremy. I don't mind you defending the honor of a girl. That is very noble and good. But next time, try not to get your ass kicked and then run away. I don't want to have to search for you and wonder if you are okay. I do that enough. I don't like you drinking or doing drugs, but if Vicki makes you happy, I don't mind if you spend time with her," I say. I give a side hug to my kid brother. "Let's go. I'll clean your face up when we get home." We both got up off the ground. We walked back to the car, where Elena was hugging Stefan. "Hey, Lena. Hey, Stefan."

We drove home. Elena went upstairs to write in her journal and go to sleep. I cleaned up Jeremy's face with the first aid kit. As soon as I was finished, he rushed to his room. Jenna was in her room too. I went to my room as well. I kept working on my drawings, while listening to my music. I thought about what I saw. I still don't really believe what I saw. It was very dark and I only saw it for a couple seconds. It couldn't have been anything bad at all. I fell asleep with that scene flashing through my head.

_A/N: I am so so sorry. I have been sick and really busy, so I haven't been able to get this out. I hope the length makes up for it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Leave a review. I will try to get the next chapter written and published really soon._


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

A/N: To start, I would like to say "Wow." I am still dumbstruck by the amount of followers and favorites this story has gotten. You guys have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you for all your support and well wishes when I was sick. Enjoy the next chapter of this story.

_Alliana had just finished her chores. Rebekah, Kol, and Henrik all still had to work for a little while longer, so Alliana was by herself. She was walking in the forest, because she couldn't think to do anything else. She loved to wander, because she always finds amazing things. She was walking further upstream of the river than she normally walked. She followed the river upstream as the land increased its incline. She moved away from the bank of the river to walk to the top of the hill easier. Finally, she reached the top, where the land flattened out more. She looked over at the river and found it to be a waterfall. _Oh, this is the waterfall which Rebekah spoke of the day we met, _she thought. She was about to step forward to look closer at the waterfall, when she spotted someone else here._

"_Hello," Alliana said to announce her presence. The person turned around. She realized the person was Niklaus. He was sitting on a log, slightly hunched over. He just turned back around, ignoring her._

"_I am sorry if I have offended you in some way, because it was not my intention," Alliana said._

_Niklaus turned back towards her. "You have not offended me."_

"_Then why do you ignore me? I love to spend time with your siblings, other than Finn and yourself. I have not seen Finn very often, but he always greets me when I do. You however, ignore me every time I try to talk to you," Alliana replies._

"_Then why do you not go back to my siblings?" Niklaus asked as he turns back around._

"_They are all busy. So I decided to take a walk. I then found myself here and now I have decided to talk to you," Alliana replied._

"_Why?"_

"_Because I would like to get to know you."_

"_Just leave me alone." Niklaus grumbled. Alliana sat down on a rock, close to Niklaus. She sees that Niklaus was sketching. She stayed quiet for a while, and watched as Niklaus continued to sketch. She saw it to be a picture of a horse._

"_That is a beautiful drawing. Do you like horses?" Alliana asks._

"_Yes."_

"_I love horses, especially the ones that you can find in the wild. They are so beautiful. They are majestic and loyal. So gentle and so strong at the same time, wouldn't you agree?"_

"_Yes, I would." Niklaus smirks at her._

"_Do you like to draw?"_

"_Yes."_

"_I think the ability to draw something is truly amazing. You can capture the beauty of something and be able to keep it forever, even if the thing changes."_

"_Yes, that is what I love about drawing. It helps me escape as well."_

"_See, now I have gotten to know you and spend time with you. I very much enjoy it. You can join us when we play games. I believe Kol cheats. Maybe you can help me outsmart him and catch him."_

_Niklaus smiles a true genuine smile. "I would like that."_

"Scum Fell… Scum Bucket…" Jenna says while looking at the TV. Okay….

"Who are you talking to?" I ask.

"Him." Jenna replies. I look at the television.

"The news guy?" I ask.

"Also known as Logan "Scum" Fell." Jenna says. "Did your mom ever tell you why I moved from Mystic Falls?"

My mom said she moved away because of some guy. Wait…"Oh, no way. You and him?" I look back at the TV. "He is kind of cute."

"He is not cute. There is nothing cute about him." Jenna turns off the TV. I look at the box I found in Mom's stuff.

"What are you doing with that?" Jenna asks.

"I went yesterday and got it from the safe deposit box," I say while cleaning some thing I found in it. "Mom had told Mrs. Lockwood she would loan it to the Founder's Council for their Heritage Display." Jenna picks up one of the wedding rings.

"Is that Grandma Beth's wedding ring?"

"Originally it was great great grandma Mary's wedding ring," I say as Jeremy walks in.

"How much do you think this stuff is worth? You know, like on eBay?" He says as he picks up another thing from the box.

"You are not going to find out." I say as I take it from him. "This stuff is Mom and Dad's. You can't just give it away."

"I'm not giving it away." Jeremy says as he walks into the kitchen.

"It's called a loan, Jeremy." I say to him. Jeremy just rolls his eyes as he opens the refrigerator. The doorbell rings. I can hear Elena coming down the stairs.

"I got it!" Elena calls. I get up from the chair I was sitting and peek at who was at the door. I find Elena and Stefan kissing. There's the answer to that question. I go back to the kitchen and continue to clean the stuff in Mom's box. I remember Mom going on about this stuff. She was the one who really encouraged me. She was so supportive of my love of history and really nurtured it. This was our favorite founder's party. She would take me around to look at all the displays since before I could remember. The founder's parties remind me of my mom.

I keep cleaning and polishing all of the stuff I found in Mom's box when the doorbell rings. It must be Mrs. Lockwood coming to pick up the stuff. I grab the stuff and go to the door. I see Jeremy grabbing the door. When he tries to close it, I know it is Tyler. Tyler blocks the door from closing.

"I'm here for my mom. I was supposed to pick up a box of stuff," Tyler says.

I say, "Right here," as I hand the box to him. "Please be careful."

"Yeah, be careful with it, dick." Jeremy says.

"Hey! Not now, guys," I say. I lightly smack Jeremy on the arm and give him another look.

"I'm fine. He's just being a punk," Tyler says.

"I got your punk." Jeremy says defensively.

"Look, Tyler, maybe you should go. Tell your mom that I'll see her tonight," I say. I turn back around and go back to the kitchen. Bonnie is there with Elena talking about nail polish.

"Delicate Flower vs. Naughty Vixen," Bonnie says.

"Tough call. Can we mix them?" Elena asks.

"Look at you, getting all pretty for your date." I tease my twin.

"You seem happy-ish," Bonnie says.

"I am…ish." Elena replies. I move to sit next to her at the table. I look at all the nail polish colors. I'm thinking something to match my dress for tonight. "Tonight is going to be a good night. But don't let that stop you from telling me whatever it is you wanted to tell me as soon as you walked in the door," my sister continues.

"What if I tell you in the morning? I don't want to ruin the night," Bonnie says. She looks at the nail polishes.

"Bonnie, out with it," I say.

"Okay, but it has to go in the vault, because Caroline will kill me if it gets back to Damon that she squealed," Bonnie says. Elena and I both looked at each other, then look at Bonnie. This should be interesting. "Apparently, Stefan has a very interesting backstory." Elena and I both nod. "Do you know what happened with his ex-girlfriend Katherine?"

"I know they both dated her and that's why they have issues," Elena says.

"Yeah, they both dated her, only she chose Damon. And that drove Stefan mad, so he did horrible things to try and break them up. He manipulated Katherine. He filled her head with all these lies until finally it worked, and she turned against Damon," Bonnie says.

"That sounds like one person's side of the story," Elena says.

"Meaning Damon's," I say.

"I just wanted you to know," says Bonnie.

"Anyway, his past relationships are none of my business."

"Unless, he's a calculating, manipulative liar. That is your business," I say. I pick up a base coat to start doing my nails.

"Stefan is none of those things," Elena says.

"Yeah? How do you know?" Bonnie asks. Elena thinks about it. I wait for the base coat to dry before picking up the color I chose for tonight and start painting my nails. After we paint our nails, we continue to get ready. Bonnie curls her hair, while Elena and I do our makeup. The phone rings and she goes to pick it up. I hear her side of the conversation. She is talking to Mrs. Lockwood about something being missing, I think.

"What's wrong?" I ask. I follow her into Jeremy's room, where he is listening to music while on his computer. Elena knocks his headphones off.

"Ah! God, what now?" Jeremy says.

"The pocket watch, where is it?" Elena asks.

"What watch?" Jeremy asks. He tries to untangle himself from the wires of his headphones.

"The one you stole from Mom's box. Look, Mrs. Lockwood just called me, freaking out. It was on the list, Jeremy. And she can't find it, and she thinks she's the one who lost it."

"Maybe she did. Maybe Tyler did it," Jeremy says.

"Don't even play that card Jeremy. Did you take it?" I ask.

"If I go online, am I going to find it on eBay? Is that how you pay for your pot?" Elena says.

"Elena!" I say.

"Screw you." Jeremy says. He gets up and grabs the watch from behind his stereo on his bottom shelf. "I would never sell this, okay?"

"Then why did you take it?" Elena asks.

"Because it's supposed to be mine," Jeremy replies. I remember this watch now.

"Dad says it goes to the firstborn son," I say.

"His father gave it to him, and now what?" Jeremy says. He hands Elena the watch. He goes back to his computer.

"He was going to give it to you," Elena says.

"Yeah," Jeremy says. Elena leaves. I grab the pocket watch from her.

"Look, Jere, it's still yours. Mom promised Mrs. Lockwood. What are we supposed to do?" I say.

"Just take it and get out," Jeremy says.

"I promise to get it back to you," I say. Jeremy puts his headphones back on. I discreetly leave the pocket watch in his room. I go back to Elena's room where to finish getting ready. 

I go with Bonnie to the party. Elena went with Stefan and Caroline went with Damon. Bonnie is wearing a light colored, flowery halter dress with some beading on the straps. Her hair is curled and she looks really good. Elena is wearing an orange, shiny strapless dress. It has multiple shades of colors of red, orange, and some yellow with some shiny parts. Her straight hair is pulled into a half ponytail and clipped. She is wearing the necklace that Stefan gave her. I am wearing a pale purple, spaghetti strapped dress with silver beading above the waist. My long, medium-brown hair is left down in its natural waves. I am wearing black eyeliner and light purple eye shadow to bring out the green tint in my medium-brown eyes. A plain shimmery lip gloss completes my look. I think that we all look really good.

Throughout the party I divided my time between hanging out with Bonnie, looking at the exhibits and hanging out with Elena. I haven't seen too much of Caroline. I was looking at the registry from the original Founder's Ball with Elena. She was remarking on how many familiar names there were.

"Sheriff William Forbes." Liz Forbes, Caroline's mom is now sheriff.

"Mayor Benjamin Lockwood." Richard Lockwood, Tyler's father, is mayor today. That is really interesting.

"Damon Salvatore." What. I looked at the names more carefully. Stefan Salvatore was on there too. Now that is definitely cool. Damon walks over with Caroline.

"The original Salvatore brothers. Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually," Damon says.

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past," Stefan says.

"It's not boring, Stefan," Elena says. "I'd love to hear more about your family."

"I love stories of the past. I find them fascinating," I say.

"Well, I'm bored. I want to dance," Caroline says. I would hand out with her, but I want to hear the story. I can always find her later. "And Damon won't dance with me." Dmaon shakes his head. "Can I borrow your date, Elena?"

Elena kind of just looks shocked and tries to stammer out an answer. Stefan cuts in.

"I don't really dance."

"Oh, sure he does." Damon interjects. "You should see him. Waltz, the Jitterbug, the Moonwalk. He does it all." Damon seems eager to get his brother to dance.

"You wouldn't mind. Would you, Elena?" Caroline asks.

"It's up to Stefan," my sister replies.

"Well sorry, but I'm not going to take no for an answer," Caroline says. Caroline grabs Stefan's hand and leads him away. We all watch them leave.

"I want to apologize to you, Elena, for being such a world-class jerk the other night when I tried to kiss you," Damon says.

"What?! He tried to kiss you and you didn't tell me. I think I should feel offended," I interrupt.

"I'm sorry-," Elena starts.

"I forgive you, but next time I want all the details," I interrupt.

"Well, there's no excuse for that," Damon says. "My therapist says I'm…acting out, trying to punish Stefan."

"For what?" Elena asks.

"I bet this is about Katherine again," I say.

"It's all in the past. I don't even want to bring it up. Let's just say that all the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry. And it all started with the original Salvatore brothers," Damon says. "The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town. Until the war. There was a battle here-"

"The Battle of Willow Creek." I interrupt.

"Right," Damon says to me.

"I know. We talked about it in class. Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside. They apparently believed it to be housing weapons inside. There were 27 civilians that died," I say.

"What the history books left out was, the people that were killed. They weren't there by accident," Damon says. He circles to the other side of me and my sister. He walks to another exhibit. It was a model of a church. I'm guessing that is the church that the civilians were in. "They were believed to be Union sympathizers. So, some of the Founders on the Confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive. Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church. And when they went to rescue them, they were shot. Murdered in cold blood."

"I bet it was a woman they wanted to save," I say.

"Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?" Damon asks.

"Look, I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you, but I can't get in the middle of it, Damon," Elena says. Damon looks down for a second with a slight guilty face. He looks up when Elena continues, "I just….I hope you two can work it out."

"I hope so too," Damon replies. They both go to leave. Elena looks back at me.

"Go ahead. Go find Stefan. I am going to keep looking at all the exhibits," I say. Damon and Elena walk off. I continue to look at all the interesting stuff. I see so many antique things. There are some things from all the Founding Families. Some silverware from the Forbes, some paintings and pictures from the Fells, the whole house is filled with antique things of the Lockwoods. I look one more time at the original registry. I see one more interesting name. Katherine Pierce.

Later at the party, I find Elena and Caroline in the bathroom touching up. Caroline was fixing her earrings and redoing her makeup. Elena was also redoing her makeup. I hear them talking.

"So, how are things with Stefan?" Caroline asks. She grabs her lip gloss.

"Great. Just great," Elena says. She redoes her lip gloss.

"Really? Well, my radar must be off, because I was getting all sorts of other vibes," Caroline says. She leans forward to also redo her lip gloss. Her scarf moves and I see a mark on her neck.

"What is that?" I ask. I try to grab her scarf to see it better when she tries to block me.

"Don't!" Elena holds her for a second while I move her scarf. There is a bite mark on her neck.

"Oh my god, Caroline, what happened?" My twin asks. Caroline again pushes away.

"Nothing, okay?!" When she moved, her knit bolero cover slipped. She pulls it back up.

"That isn't nothing. Did somebody hurt you?" I ask.

Caroline turns back to the mirror. "No, okay, nothing." She retouches her makeup. "It's just…my mom would kill me."

I pull her bolero away. Another bite mark is revealed. "Did Damon hurt you?"

Caroline stands straight up and fixers her cover. "No! Of course not!" Elena goes to pull the bolero away again. Caroline pushes her off and grabs all her makeup. "Just leave me alone, okay, Elena and Emilia?! God!" She walks away.

"Go tell Stefan, now!" I tell my sister. We both rush out of the bathroom. Elena goes outside to find Stefan. I spot Damon. I march over to him. He looks at me and starts to smile in greeting. I rush to him and push him hard. He stumbles back. "There is something seriously wrong with you. Caroline is my best friend. If you hurt her again, I will beat the crap out of you! Better yet, stay away from her! Stay away from her or I will go straight to her mother, the sheriff. You got it?" I give him my best glare. I swear he looks scared for a few seconds before he masks it. "Stay away from her!" I walk away from him to try to control my temper. He is lucky I didn't beat the crap out of him now. I see Elena and Stefan talking out by the fountain. I walk while trying to control my breathing. I was shaking from anger, but I started to calm down. Nothing gets me madder then when people hurt or threaten my friends. I see Elena and Stefan in an intense conversation, so I leave them be. I start to walk slowly around the grounds, calming myself down. I walk back to the party and spot someone lying in the grass. I rush over and find it to be Caroline. She was unconscious. I kept shaking her to get her to wake up. "Caroline, wake up!"

She eventually becomes conscious again. She slowly sits up. I grab her stuff and slide over next to her. My knee hits something. I pick it up. It is an amber crystal. It was a diamond shape inside a circular, bronze antique setting. It was different, but pretty. I just put it in Caroline's bag. I help Caroline get up. She seems fine. "Hey are you okay? You had me really scared."

Elena comes walking over to us. "Hey, there you guys are. I've been looking everywhere for you guys."

Caroline tries to slow down her breaths to calm herself down.. "Caroline, are you okay?" I ask.

Caroline seems to be okay for a second, but doesn't stay that way. "Yeah, I'm fine." She fixes her scarf.

"Caroline, what happened?" My sister asks.

Caroline's breathing starts to speed up. "I'm fine. I'm fine. No." Caroline starts to sob.

"Care, you're shaking. Caroline, what-" I start to ask.

"I'm fine!" Caroline tries to reassure herself, but I can see she is falling apart. I pull her into a tight hug. She starts sobbing into my shoulder. I look over at my twin.

"I'm going to take her home. I might stay with her for a while. Can you tell Jenna and go with her?" I ask my twin.

"Yeah, sure," she quickly replies. Caroline keeps sobbing. I hold her until she calms down slightly. I take her to her house. Her sobs have slowed down to mostly silently tears. Every once in a while she chokes out another sob. Each time is longer before she chokes out another sob, so I know she is calming down. I help her into her room and some pajamas. Her sobs have slowed to silent tears. I know this must have been very bad to reduce my bubbly, optimistic best friend to a sobbing mess. I stay with her until she cries herself to sleep. I leave her a glass of water and go home.

My house is relatively quiet when I get home. I quickly get ready to go to sleep. I felt so drained and tired. I think for a few moments about the day. I remember the name I saw earlier, Katherine Pierce. I thought how ironic it was that Stefan's name, Damon's name, and at least the first name of their ex-girlfriend were all on the registry from 1864. My thoughts drifted to what life would have been like back then. 

AN: I would again like to thank everyone who has followed, favorite, and/or reviewed this story. I would like to give a few quick shout-outs. I would love to thank Midnight172013R who has reviewed on every single chapter and gave me some great ideas for future chapters. I would like to thank some guest viewers that reviewed. I'm sorry I don't know their names, but thanks whoever you are. You guys know who you are. I would finally like to thank whitedwarf for giving me the best review so far. It was really long and gave me a lot to think about. I can't wait for what you think about this and future chapters. Thank you to all who have even bothered to read this story!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A/N: Hello all. Again, thank you for all your support. I am still getting notifications about people who follow and favorite this story. Thank you all. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

_It had been many months since Alliana had moved to the village. She spends most if not all of her time with the Mikaelson family. Rebekah was her best friend. She was also very close with Elijah and Niklaus. They were all the best of friends. There was one happy day that the whole Mikaelson family can remember. They remember it because it was the last happy day the family truly enjoyed._

_Alliana started the day by doing her chores with Rebekah. They fooled around while doing them. They talked about the boys in the village and wove flowers into their hair. Rebekah spoke of a boy who had caught her eye. While Rebekah spoke, Alliana kept her thought of her own love to herself. Rebekah noticed this, but refrained from calling it out at this time. They spent the rest of their time laughing._

_Next, Alliana spent some of her time with Finn. They do not often spend time together, but when they do, they enjoy it. They spend their time together that day contemplating their lives and talking to each other. Finn believed that Alliana was wise beyond her years but still a child in her heart. They talked about a variety of topics, including their families, strange dreams, hypothetical situations, their wishes, and many other topics. It was very calming and peaceful._

_Later, Alliana spent time playing tricks with Kol. They had the grandest time playing tricks on the people of the village. They made one man slip in a puddle of water and accidently hit another man. They made certain women lose certain possessions. They generally had a great time together, laughing and joking._

_After, she spent time with Henrik. They played games in the forest. Kol and Rebekah joined them towards the end of their time together that day. Henrik gave Alliana a carving from wood. She promised to always keep it with her. Alliana also gave him advice for when he was older. She told him to always be true to himself, but be kind towards others. She also told him to never change, because he was such a wonderful boy._

_Then, she spent time with Niklaus. He taught her more about how to draw. He told her about all that inspires him. They laughed about all the things they had done with Kol. They enjoyed their time together, like everyone else did. They drew pictures of each other and showed them to the other person. Niklaus' was better, but neither of them minded._

_Sometime later, she spent time with Elijah. They played games and spent time together in their spot, the spot where they met. They simply enjoyed being in each other's presence. No words were necessary between them. They just relaxed and watched the sun slowly sink down the horizon._

_Finally, she spent time with Esther. The woman became a second mother. They, along with Rebekah made the final meal of the day. Esther hummed while she worked and Alliana joined along. They talked about being a witch and a healer. The women joined the men of the family and they all joined together to eat the delicious meal. The entire family laughed and talked. They were all simply happy. The last time it happened for over a thousand years._

I woke up the next morning and started to get ready. I walked into Elena outside the bathroom.

"You don't want to go in there," she tells me.

"Why?" I ask.

"Vicki is in there," she explains.

"Oh. Okay." We walk downstairs together. Jenna is sitting in the kitchen. She is writing something. "Jenna. Are you aware of what's going on upstairs?" I ask her.

"Uh-huh," Jenna replies. She doesn't even look up to respond.

"And you have no objection?" Elena asks. Jenna looks at us.

"He could be craftier about it. At least make an effort to sneak her in and out," Jenna says. Elena and I start making breakfast. "Oh, and, uh, just so you know, I won't be home for dinner." Jenna finishes speaking while going back to writing.

"Oh, so you are actually going to do it. You are going to go on a date with _Logan_," I tease her.

Jenna looks to me. "I am going to show up and torture him, yes." We all chuckle. "Elena, have you heard from Stefan?" Jenna asks. I am curious about this as well.

"Not since he left that very vague message three days ago," Elena replies. She does a bad impression of Stefan's voicemail, "Hi, um, Elena, I, um have something I have to do. I'll, uh, explain in a few days." I was chuckling into my bowl of cereal.

"Haven't you called him?" I ask.

"Nope," my twin replies. "Not going to, either."

"And you're okay with everything?" Jenna asks.

Elena puts down the carton of milk that she had just poured into her cereal. "No, I'm not okay with any of it. But I'm not going to cry about it, either. You know, I was going to write in my diary this morning, and then I thought, what am I going to write?" Jenna and I just listen to her mini-rant. "Honestly, I'm not going to be one of those pathetic girls that whose world stops spinning because of some guy." Elena shoves a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

"Okay then," Jenna replies.

"I'll be fine," Elena says. She walks away. I finish my cereal and quickly grab all my stuff for school. I shout a hurried good-bye to Jenna before I left.

Bonnie, Elena, and I were watching Caroline as she described the Sexy Suds car wash to other girls. She looked as if nothing had happened at all.

"Unbelievable. It's like nothing happened," Elena says.

"She's in denial," Bonnie says. We all just look back at Caroline. It's almost kind of freaky how normal she looks. She looks as if the party did not happened, which is really surprising considering how she broke down at the party. I am actually a little worried about her. Stefan walks up to us.

"Hey," he greets us.

"Hey. You know, Bonnie and I have to be somewhere. Right now," I say. I grab her and we leave Elena and Stefan to talk.

Later, Elena comes home from the Grille. She told me about how she and Stefan were supposed to meet at the Grille for him to explain, but he showed up over an hour late. I could tell she was really disappointed in Stefan. She also look very sad. I could see how my sister was reacting, and I got an idea.

"Lena, can I borrow your phone for a second?" I ask her. She hands it over. I quickly find Stefan's number and enter it into my phone. I handed her back her phone. She quickly went up to her room. When I was sure she was out of earshot, I dialed Stefan's number. It rang a few times before Stefan picked up.

"Hello," he said.

"Stefan, hi. It's Emilia."

"Oh, hi."

"We need to talk. I know what happened between you and Elena. She told me. My sister is very big on trust. She doesn't want to get hurt. But, she likes you and you are hurting her by not being honest with her. Just go and tell her about yourself. Show her that she can trust you. Show me that I can trust you to not hurt my sister anymore. Because if you do, I _will_ beat the crap out of you."

"Okay, I will."

"By the way, my sister's favorite food is Chicken Parmesan. I'm sure you can handle that, _Salvatore_," I say before I hang up. I wait for someone to knock on the door. I open it to find Stefan there. I point to the kitchen. "Kitchen's that way. I hope you guys can leave some leftovers for me." He nods in acknowledgement. I head upstairs. I sneak a peek at my twin in her room. She is hugging her teddy bear on her bed. I sneak past her room. I poke my head in Jeremy's room. He was chilling on his computer. Vicki was with him.

"Jere, I need you to do something," I tell him.

He looks over to me, then to Vicki and shrugs, "Sure."

"I need you to get Elena to go downstairs. Stefan is down there cooking for her. Don't tell her that he is here. I want it to be a surprise," I tell him.

He shrugs again and replies, "Sure. No problem." He gets up and goes to Elena's room. I see her head downstairs a minute later. I give Jeremy a high five when he walks back to his room. I head to mine.

The next day, Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, Matt, and I were at the car wash. There were a lot of girls in bikinis and shorts and shirtless guys. Caroline was wearing a pink spotted ruffled bikini that had string in the middle that tied around her neck and shorts. Bonnie was wearing a greenish brown halter bikini with pretty stitching that had zigzags and light plaid shorts. Matt was wearing a black wife-beater and black swim trunks. Elena was wearing a black and purple bikini, but covered it with a white tank top and red shirt. I was wearing a teal halter bikini with light green stripes and jean shorts. I was washing cars with Bonnie and Matt. Caroline was explaining to Elena how to work the money. Which meant that she was telling her not to give any freebies or pay you later's. That type of thing. Stefan walked up to them. He took off his hoodie, while Elena struggled to take off her red shirt. He helped her and they kissed. Matt slowed down washing the car to watch them. I noticed him doing it.

"Nuh-uh. None of that tortured pining stuff," I say to him.

He turns back to washing the car. "I'm just observing," he says.

"Yeah, sure you were," I say sarcastically. Another car drives up. Bonnie calls out to Tiki, another girl on the cheerleading squad.

"Tiki! This one's yours."

She walks over and gives the car a loo. "Why do I always get the homely ones?" She asks as she grabs something to wash the car with. The owner gets out of the car. "Just to be clear, your car's a P.O.S. I mean, we can still wash it, but it's still a P.O.S."

"You don't have to be rude," Bonnie says to her.

"Rude is uglying up the road with that junker," Tiki says. What a bitch. The owner of the car throws the keys in the car and walks away. Tiki leans down into the bucket of water to grab something to wash the car with. She grabs a hose to fill up the bucket with water. I see Bonnie go very still, watching Tiki. Bonnie goes in almost a trance. I walk over to her to snap her out of it, when the water in Tiki's bucket explodes. Everyone flinches backwards away from Tiki and the hose that was spraying all over. Tiki was squealing and Bonnie and I just smirked at her. Matt rushes over to Tiki, helps her turn off the hose, and hands her a towel. She was soaked.

"Wet and wild, Tik," Matt says to her. Bonnie and I share a smile at seeing Tiki's miserable and annoyed face at being soaked. I think about her trance moment for a second.

"Bonnie, that wasn't you, was it?" I ask her. We both turn back to washing the car.

"How could it have been?" She replies.

"Maybe you really are a witch. Has anything else strange happened to you that you could have done with your special witch powers?" I ask her. She pauses for a second and I know something else did happen. She then goes back to washing the car. I wonder what it was.

Bonnie and I keep washing cars together. I saw Jenna talking with Logan Fell, the news guy. They looked like they were getting along well. I saw Elena and Stefan washing cars together and talking. I also saw Elena get abandoned by Caroline at the pay station. I see Elena talking to an old man. It turns out to be Tiki's grandfather. I walk over to Elena and ask her what was going on. She gets up and again talks to the old man. I see her talk to Stefan for a few minutes before I follow her when she talks with Jenna. Logan walks over to all of us and greets us.

"Hi. Elena and Emilia, right? I think I met you two once when you guys were nine." He shakes both of our hands.

"Your emotional maturity level when we were together," Jenna says.

Logan turns to her. "Ouch. Here I thought we were making progress."

Elena cuts in. "Is he enough in your good graces that I can ask him for a favor?" She asks Jenna.

Logan turns to Jenna. "If I do her a favor, will I get back in your good graces?"

"A very reluctant maybe to both," Jenna replies.

Logan turns back to my twin. "Done. Wait. One condition." He turns to Jenna, "Dinner, tonight, your house."

Jenna looks to the both of us. We urge her on with our eyes. "Fine. But you're eating leftovers," she says as she turns to Logan.

"It's fine. The leftovers are actually really good," I say.

Logan chuckles. "What do you need?" He asks my sister.

"Do you have access to old new stories, say, fifties?" Elena asks.

"Yeah, at the station. Between the archives and the internet, we pretty much have everything."

"I have this report that is way past due. It'd be a lifesaver." She is totally lying and I am going to find out why.

"Heading there now," Logan says.

Elena smiles. "Let's go."

"I'll come with," I say. Logan walks away. We turn to Jenna. "If anyone asks, you don't know where we went. We don't want Caroline after us if she knows we left." We quickly grab our stuff. I see Elena look over at Stefan washing another car. I put my shirt on and we leave.

Logan, Elena, and I were at the news station. Logan was explaining how to work everything. He got a phone call and left. But not before he asked us to put in a good word for him with Jenna. After he leaves, I finally get the chance to ask what this is all about.

"An incident from 1953, at the Salvatore Boarding Hose, if it even happened," Elena replies.

"Why, may I ask?"

"Yesterday, at the Grille, this man came up to Stefan and me and said he knew him. Stefan said that he must have been mistaking him for someone else. When I talked to the man today, he told me about this incident in 1953."

We looked up a couple searches, but couldn't find anything. Elena then tried one more search and something popped up. We watched a video of an old newsreel from 1953. It was about an animal attack at the Salvatore Boarding House that ended in the death of Joseph Salvatore. In the background, we saw a shadow of a person that looked very similar to Stefan. When Elena paused the video, we got a closer look at the person; we could see it was Stefan. I turn to Elena.

"How is Stefan in the 1950's and still looks exactly the same today?"

"I don't know."

We drove home in silence. I followed her into her room. I sat on her bed while she started to pace.

"Lena, talk to me. We can figure this out."

"Okay. I'm not a believer. You know this. But how can I deny what is right in front of me?" Elena says.

"Someone who never grows old, which is why he still looks the same as he did in the 1950's and why his name was on the original guest registry list," I say.

"Someone who never gets hurt," Elena says.

"His hand. When Jeremy missed it with that broken beer bottle, he didn't actually miss it. Stefan's hand just healed."

"Someone who can change in ways that can't be explained. His eyes darken in a way that can't be explained."

"Girls bitten. Caroline had bite marks all over her body. Bodies drained of blood. Vicki in the woods on the night of the bonfire. Matt said she said that a vampire attacked her."

"Lia, what if Stefan and Damon are vampires?" I thought about it.

"It makes sense," I say. "Lena, I just remembered something I saw. The night of Tanner's death, I saw Damon with his head on Tanner's neck. I think he was drinking his blood." I start to get a little nervous. "I thought it was just a joke. That it was just a trick, that it was too dark to really understand what I saw. I now understand it though. I saw Damon Salvatore feeding on the blood of Mr. Tanner." I say as I stand up. "If we are going to confirm this, we need to go straight to the source."

"Stefan," Elena says. She looks down. I can tell she is thinking about it. She grabs her stuff and I know we are headed to the Salvatore House. "Let's go." We head out and drive over. Elena and I rush out of the car when we arrive at the house. Elena knocks on the door and Stefan opens it.

We look at him and Elena asks, "What are you?"

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. My schedule is clearing up some, so updates may be sooner.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 7

A/N: I'm sorry this has taken awhile. I kind of got distracted. ADHD sucks. But I'm back and with another chapter. Longest chapter yet. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I keep forgetting this. Nobody sue me for that. I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters. I do own Emilia, Alliana, and any other OC's that I create. From now on, if I forget this, just know that I still mean it.

_It had been many weeks since that one happy day. Alliana was spending time with Rebekah and Henrik. She could hear the clashing of blades not too far off. Rebekah and Henrik both noticed._

"_Come on Alliana, Henrik. Elijah and Niklaus are fighting again," Rebekah said as she ran off. Alliana and Henrik soon followed her. Niklaus pushed Elijah back with his blade. They circled around each other waiting for the next person to strike._

"_Oh, look. Sister and Alliana have arrived to watch my fast-approaching victory," Elijah said._

"_On the contrary, Elijah," Niklaus said as he pointed towards Elijah with his sword. They again started to battle. Swords clashed as they danced around each other in battle. Finally, Niklaus used his sword to cut Elijah's belt. Elijah just looks down at it. "They've come to laugh at you."_

_Alliana started to giggle first, with everyone else joining in soon after. Niklaus smiles at her. Esther and Mikael had walked up during the battle. She was carrying a basket while Mikael just had a stern look on his face. Esther was trying to calm Mikael down._

"_Relax, Mikael. Niklaus means well," Esther said._

"_That is precisely my problem," Mikael replied. Mikael walked up to Elijah. As he does, the smiles and laughter cease. Mikael just held his hand out to Elijah to give him the sword. Elijah handed it to him and just stepped back. _

"_So…" Mikael said, walking slowly around to face Niklaus. "Why don't you teach me that trick, young warrior?"_

_Mikael slashed his sword at Niklaus, but he defended himself. "Father, we were just having fun," Niklaus said._

"_We fight for our survival. And you find time for fun?! I want to have fun! Teach me! Come on," Mikael said, shouting at him._

"_Father, it was nothing," Niklaus replied._

_Mikael kept slashing his sword at Nik, who was having a harder time trying to defend himself. Alliana looks away at some point and only looks back when the battle slows down. Mikael pushed Niklaus' sword away and jabs him in the legs so he falls on his back. Pointing his sword at Niklaus' neck while kneeling on him he said, "You are foolish and impulsive, my boy. What? No more laughter?"_

"_You've made your point, Mikael," Esther said._

_Mikael yelled and stabbed his sword into the ground, right next to Niklaus' neck. "Some days, it is a miracle you're still alive…boy." Mikael gets off of Niklaus and walks away. Niklaus leans his head back relieved._

_Niklaus, Rebekah, Elijah, Alliana, and Henrik were all spending time together later that day. Mikael saw this and looked around to see that Esther was not near. He took the opportunity. He grabbed Niklaus, dragged him a little ways away, and started punching him. All over Niklaus' body, Mikael punched him. He walked away for a second and grabbed a whip. Alliana turned away from the action. After a few cracks of the whip onto Niklaus' body, Mikael walked slowly up to Niklaus. "That was for earlier. Now you know to never do it again." Mikael then walked away._

_Niklaus got up, bleeding from many places and ran as fast as he could away. Alliana followed him a few seconds later. She followed him to the spot by the waterfall._

"_Are you alright, Niklaus?" Alliana asked him._

_Niklaus just turned away from her. She walked closer to him and could see that he was bleeding on his face._

"_Niklaus! You are bleeding!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him to a spot further upstream, right by the river. Alliana ripped part of Niklaus' already torn shirt and dipped it in water. She started to clean off his face. "I apologize for this."_

"_It is not the worse he has done," Niklaus somberly replied._

"_He has done this before? Why has no one done something?" Alliana asked._

"_It is none of your concern."_

"_Of course it is. You are my friend and I want you to be happy and safe." Alliana said as she looks into his eyes. Niklaus could see the worry in her eyes, and smiled at her. He liked the fact that someone cared. Alliana smiles back and they just sit there smiling at each other._

"What are you?" Elena asks. Stefan just stands there holding the door. "What are you?" Elena asks again. I could feel that she was scared.

Stefan just swallows and clenches his jaw. "You know."

"No, we don't," Elena replies. I did, but I think she is having a harder time accepting it and needed confirmation.

"Yes, you do or you wouldn't be here," Stefan says.

"It's not possible. It can't be," Elena says, shaking her head.

Stefan puts down a wooden stake that he was holding in his hand. Elena steps back. "Everything you know…and every belief you had is about to change. Are you ready for that?"

"What are you?" Elena asks for the final time.

Stefan looks between the two of us and takes a deep breath. "I'm a vampire." I knew it. As scary as it is, it is kind of cool at the same time. I could tell my twin did not feel the same way. I could see her confidence deflate slightly.

"We shouldn't have come," Elena says.

"No. Please," Elena says as Stefan steps forward. Every time he steps forward towards my sister, she steps back. Elena runs away towards the car. Stefan appears in front of her. I could see their exchange, but I quickly grab the wooden stake before I walk to my sister. I could see when she gets in the car, and I quickly run into the passenger side. We quickly drive away. Elena runs into the house when we arrive there. I walk into the house and set the stake in the drawer in the side table next to the door. I might need that stake soon.

I walk up the stairs and I see Elena rush out of her bedroom terrified. She sees me and grabs me. She drags me into her room and pulls me onto the bed. Elena tells me what happened just now between her and Stefan. She explains how Damon is the one who was killing all those people and how Stefan does not drink human blood to survive. She also told me how we have to keep this secret. I could tell while she was explaining to me what happened, that Stefan really cares for my sister.

Elena breaks down while she was explaining and starts crying. All this has really got her scared. She cries herself to sleep. I go downstairs to the kitchen. The house is quiet, so I make myself a cup of tea and sit out on the porch swing. I see someone in the shadows, leaning against the house. "I am sorry for how my sister reacted. It is a lot for her to take in."

The person moves and steps into the light. I knew who it was even when he was just in the shadows. Stefan seems the type to stand outside my sister's bedroom to make sure she is okay.

"I was expecting her to react like that, but I hoped she would take it better," Stefan says.

I move the tea bag in my cup. "My sister had her whole world turned upside down tonight. Give her some time. She will come around."

"You are taking this surprisingly well," Stefan says as he comes to sit next to me.

"I already knew of the possibility that vampires exist. It wasn't such a big of a shock to me as it was to my sister." I take a sip of my tea.

"Do you think that she will forgive me?"

"I know she will. It was a huge shock to her, but she will get used to it. She also cares for you enough that I know she will learn to adapt to this idea."

"Why are you not scared?"

"My sister explained what you said to her. You care for her so much and you would never hurt her. You have also had the chance to hurt me for some time, and you haven't so I think you won't." I took another sip of my tea.

"How did you know of the possibility of vampires?"

"I read a journal of one of my ancestors. I really like history, so I thought it would be cool. In it he talks about vampires. At first, I thought he was crazy. Then I thought about it, and it didn't seem as far-fetched as I originally thought. But still it is Johnathan _Gilbert's_ journal, so who knows." As I said the name of my ancestor, Stefan's face fell into a guilty looking one. I saw it change. "As I see your face, I can tell you know. Did you know him?"

"Yeah, I did." Stefan replies. I could see that he didn't really want to talk about it.

"Well, I have to go. I will see you tomorrow." I say as I get up, finishing my tea. "Don't worry about Elena. She will understand eventually." I go inside, rinse my cup, and go quickly to sleep.

The next day, I followed my sister to the Grille. There we sat at a table with Stefan.

"You said that you would explain everything. That's why I asked you to meet me here. When you google 'vampires' you get a world a fiction. What's the reality?" Elena says.

"I can tell you whatever you want to know," Stefan replies.

"I know you eat garlic," Elena says.

"Yes," Stefan replies.

"And somehow, sunlight's not an issue."

"Hi, here are your drinks," the waitress says handing our coffees to us. Stefan replies when the waitress is out of earshot.

"We have rings that protect us."

"Crucifixes?"

"Decorative."

"Holy water?"

"Drinkable."

"Mirrors?"

"Myth."

"You said you don't kill to survive," I say cutting in.

"Animal blood keeps me alive, but not as strong as Damon. It can be very powerful."

"And yet, you let him get involved with Caroline?" Elena asks.

"Lena, Damon seems the type to retaliate when he doesn't get what he wants," I say.

"Emilia's correct. Forcing Damon not to do something is much more dangerous. Believe me," Stefan says.

"He was hurting her," Elena says, leaning in towards Stefan.

"He was feeding on her." Stefan replies, leaning forward on the table to try to conceal what he was saying better. "He was able to take away memories her memories of being bitten using a form of mind compulsion. She never knew what was happening to her. If he wanted to kill her, he would have."

"Is that supposed to make it okay?" Elena asks.

"No, no none of this is okay, Elena. I know that." Stefan replies. Elena takes a breath and tries to process this. Stefan leans back in his seat.

"Are there any others, aside from you and Damon?" I ask.

"Not in Mystic Falls. Not anymore," Stefan replies.

"Not anymore, so there was a time when vampires were in Mystic Falls," I say.

"There was a time when this town was…very much aware of vampires, and I didn't end very well," Stefan says. "That's why it's important that you don't tell anyone."

"I can't promise that," my twin says.

"I can," I say.

Stefan looks at me and smiles. He turns back to my sister and leans towards her. "Elena….give me today. I will answer any questions that you have, and when it's over, you can decide for yourself what you want to do with what you know. It'll be your choice."

Elena looks over to me. I nod to her and she turns back to Stefan. She nods to him and he silently sighs in relief. We get into Elena's car and Stefan directs us where to drive. We drive up to a place in the middle of the woods. Stefan gets out of the car first. He walks around for a few seconds, looking around. I get out of the car; I look around, and finally recognize the place. We were at the spot of the old Salvatore plantation. I had read about it. My sister doesn't know what this place is though.

"What are we doing here?" Elena asks when she gets out of the car. She still stands behind the open car door.

"I want to show you something," Stefan replies. He starts to walk away. I follow him.

"In the middle of nowhere?" Elena asks.

Stefan stops. I answer my sister, while still looking around. I could see all the spots where things used to stand. I wonder what they looked like. "This didn't used to be nowhere."

I look to Stefan. He turns to my sister, "This used to be my home." Stefan looks around. My sister finally walks out from behind the car door and closes it. She walks to us and we follow Stefan. We stop in front of a brick pillar with some stone thing on top covered in vines and broken. It is beautiful, but you can tell a lot of time has passed since it was cared for.

"It looks so…" Elena starts.

"Old. It's because they are," Stefan replies.

"Wait. How old are you?" Elena asks.

"I am 17," Stefan replies.

"It isn't how old you are, it's how long have you been that age," I say.

Stefan looks down and smiles at me before looking back to my sister. "I have been 17 years old since 1864."

"Oh my god." Elena and I say at the same time. I thought it was cool, but I don't think that is what my sister was thinking.

"You said you wanted to know. I'm not going to hold anything back." Stefan said looking at my sister. When he looked away, he started to walk slowly around the property. We followed him with me being closer than my sister. "Half a century before the boarding house was even built, this was my family's home. Damon and I…we were both born here. The Salvatore brothers, bests of friends…" Stefan continues to explain how they used to play together, and something about Katherine joining them.

"You knew Katherine in 1864?" Elena asks. "Damon made it seem like-"

"Damon was trying to make you think that…I was still heartbroken." Stefan finishes her sentence. He walks in front of us, but he was looking at Elena. "He saw that I was happy with you, and he wanted to ruin it."

"All because you loved the same woman 145 years ago?" I ask.

"She wasn't just any girl," Stefan says. He then explains about how he and Damon fought over who Katherine would go to the Founders' Ball with. "She chose me. I escorted her to the ball at the original Lockwood mansion."

We walked to a stone bench where I sat down. "The first Founders' Party…where you signed the registry. I saw the name Katherine Pierce on that list. I thought it was funny how there was a Stefan, a Damon, and a Katherine, but I didn't think anything else about it."

Stefan nods and continues on with his story. "I didn't care that I had gotten something that my brother wanted. I didn't even care if I hurt him. I only knew that I wanted her."

My sister sits down next to me. "So he was upset."

"That's the thing about Damon. He doesn't get mad. He just gets even. What Damon wants, Damon usually gets. I didn't know it at the time, but…" Stefan walks a few steps, "Katherine was with him that night, too.

"So he stole her away from you, not the other way around?" Elena asks.

"Turns out…she wasn't ours to steal," Stefan replies. He goes on to explain how he found out Katherine was a vampire and how she compelled him to have his feelings stay the same for her, despite Katherine being a vampire. She seems like a total bitch. Elena stood up from the bench during his explanation and was leaning against a tree. "She could control my mind and Damon's. She compelled each of us to keep the secret from the other. She wanted us all to be together forever. Didn't work out that way, but…" Stefan reaches down to pick something up. "Damon and I, looks like we are stuck with each other…" Stefan unwraps something that he picked up. It turns out to be Damon's ring. "Like it or not."

"That's Damon's ring," I say.

"I took it from him, but I have to give it back," Stefan replies.

Elena walks up to him saying, "No. Don't, Stefan. Keep it hidden."

"Elena, if Damon doesn't get it he will probably retaliate in a way that will hurt Stefan," I say standing up from the bench.

"He will retaliate in the only way he knows he can hurt me," Stefan says.

Elena rolls her eyes, and asks, "And how is that?"

Stefan pauses for a moment and looks at Elena deeply. "By hurting you," he says. We all walk back to Elena's car. Stefan opens the car door for Elena. She was about to get in when she asks, "The mind control…you said Katherine used. Did you ever do that to me?"

"No," Stefan says while shaking his head. He points to Elena's necklace. "That necklace…" Elena looks down at it, then back at Stefan. "It contains an herb called vervain. It protects you from being compelled. I wanted to protect you from Damon's influence. But I also wanted to…protect you from me. Elena, you should never take that necklace off…" Stefan steps closer to Elena. "Because no matter what happens after today, no matter what you feel about me…you'll know that you were free to make your own choice." Stefan steps back and Elena gets in the driver's seat.

"That's awesome lover boy, but I am still unprotected," I say. Stefan turns to me and smirks.

"I thought about that." He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out some folded cloth. He hands it to me. "Here you go." I take it from him and unwrap it. It turns out to be a beautiful, antique bracelet. "I found this among some old boxes. I thought you would like it."

I look up at him and give him a big smile. "Thank you so much!" I give him a quick hug. "It's beautiful and I love it. It will also be protection from Damon, which makes it all the more awesome."

We walk back to the car. Stefan gets in the passenger side while I get in the backseat. We drive away from the old plantation and back to our house. We get in to find Jeremy on the ground with both Jeremy and Matt looking at a freaked out Vicki.

"What's going on?" Elena asks.

"She's really messed up," Matty says.

Stefan looks around before pulling Elena slightly away from Vicki. "Elena, back up." He looks at Vicki closely, "Vicki, look at me. Focus. You're going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay." After look at her for a few seconds, he starts ordering Matt and Jeremy what to do with her. "Guys, take her up to bed. Shut the blinds. She's going to be okay." He hands Vicki off to Matt and Jeremy who do as he says. He watches them go upstairs.

"You know what's wrong with her?" I ask.

"Yeah," he says walking back to us.

"What is it?" Elena asks.

"She transitioning," he replies.

"Transitioning into what?" Elena asks.

"A vampire," he says.

"What?" I ask astonished.

"Damon must have gotten to her. She's new. She hasn't completed her transformation yet," he replies.

"How does she do that?" I ask.

"She has to feed on human blood," Stefan says.

"And what if she doesn't?" Elena asks.

Stefan pauses before he answers, "She'll die."

Elena starts pacing, worrying over Vicki and Jeremy. "She's upstairs with him now."

"It's okay. She doesn't know what is happening to her yet," Stefan says trying to calm her down.

"So when is she going to know?" I ask. Elena stops pacing for a second to hear his answer.

"Right now, she doesn't remember anything. A part of her is still human, but slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition, the memories will start to come back, and then she'll know she has to make the choice." Elena leaned against the chair running her fingers through her hair. This is kind of crazy. She turns around when Stefan utters the part of his last sentence.

"The same choice you made?" Elena asks. Stefan pauses and his eyes go unfocused for a minute. He was probably thinking of past memories.

Not long after, Vicki comes rushing down the stairs and out the door. Matt goes to search for her, Stefan goes to track her, and Elena, Jeremy, and I stay to wait for any news.

Elena and I were cleaning up from dinner, while Jeremy was worrying over Vicki.

"Maybe we should check in with Matt," Jeremy says. I hand him a plate.

"He'll call when he finds her," Elena says.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Jeremy asks.

"We wait. We're supposed to wait," Elena says moving back and forth from the table to Jeremy. She picks up plates from the table and hands them to Jeremy, while he puts them in the sink, where I rinse them and put them in the dishwasher.

"I don't know what's wrong with her," Jeremy says.

"She'll be fine. It'll all be fine," I say. Jeremy makes a frustrated face. The doorbell rings and we all walk to get it. I get there first. As soon as I see who it is, I shut the door, but Damon blocks me from closing it all the way. "Jeremy, Elena, head upstairs please," I say in a deathly calm voice. Elena sends me a worried look that I mostly ignore.

"You're afraid of me. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess. Stefan finally fessed up," Damon says. He was wrong. I was not very afraid of him. I was angry.

"Stay the hell away from me and my family," I say.

"Hey, hey, hey. There's no need to be rude. I'm just looking for Stefan. Can I come in?" Damon asks pointing inside. "Oh, wait. Of course I can. I've been invited." He walks in the door and I back away slightly from him. He closes the door behind him. He walks further into the house and I walk until I am close to the side table. My eyes never leave him though. "We can cut to the chase if you want. I'm not going to kill you or your sister right now. That wouldn't serve the greater agenda." He says smugly. I keep my face blank.

"And you always have an agenda, don't you?" I ask.

Damon ignores my question, "So…where's Stefan?"

"He's out looking for Vicki," I say angrily.

"Don't look at me with those judgey little eyes." He starts walking towards me. "Girl's going to thank me for what I did to her." I slowly back up until I am against the side table. Damon is almost in my face.

"Did you thank Katherine?" I ask fake innocently.

He smirks at me and back up. He turns around and walks slightly towards the living room. I reach behind me and start opening the drawer of the side table. "Got the whole life story, huh?"

"I got enough," I say while reaching behind me into the drawer.

"Oh, I doubt that." He turns around and walks to the door. I keep what I found in the drawer behind me. "Tell my brother I am looking for him." He opens the door and is about to leave when he leans back in through the doorway. "Tip for later. Be careful who you invite in the house."

"Wait, one more thing, Damon," I say as I walk up to him. I stab him in the chest with the wooden stake, just missing his heart. He grunts in pain, I keep the stake in his chest and get close to his ear. I whisper in his ear, "Next time you try to threaten me, my sister, my family, or any of my friends, I will be sure to dip this stake in a vat of vervain and not miss your heart. Got it?" I ask menacingly. "Thanks for the tip," I say as I pull out the stake. Damon again grunts in pain. Before he can fully recover, I am already inside the door.

Later, I see Stefan and Elena have a conversation outside on the porch. When Elena comes back in, she leans against the door and falls to the ground, crying. I comfort her and help her into her room. In broken sentences she tells me about Vicki completing her transition and how she broke up with Stefan. I comfort her until she cries herself to sleep. I walk to my room and fall asleep not long after.

A/N: To make up for the lateness of the chapter, it is extra long. I hope you like it. Send me a review. Tell me everything you think about this chapter and/or this story. Shout out to everyone who has reviewed already. Thank you to all who have read this story!


	8. Chapter 8

Ch. 8

A/N: I am so sorry about the delay. My laptop broke. I now have to use a TV screen as my monitor. Then it took forever to get it fixed. I also went on vacation, sorry. I wrote an extra-long chapter to make up for it. I hope you enjoy it. I apologize for any mistakes. I was trying to get this out as soon as possible and may have missed some mistakes.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any else you may recognize. I only own my OCs Emelia and Alliana.

* * *

_A few days after the Mikael incident Alliana and Rebekah were spending time together. They were braiding each other's hair and weaving wild flowers into the braids. They were again chatting about the boy that Rebekah fancies. Alliana was only half-listening._

"_Every time I see him, I can feel my heart flutter. He is so kind. I fear Father would not let him court me…" Rebekah said._

"_Uh-huh," Alliana replied._

"_You are not listening at all to me," Rebekah said._

_Alliana continued braiding Rebekah's hair. "Of course I am. You were saying about how you fear Mikael will not let this boy court you."_

_Rebekah relaxed and grumbled, "So you were listening. I was not sure, what with your head being in the clouds. I swear your head is always up there."_

_Alliana laughed. "It is so nice up here."_

"_Come back down and tell me all about the person I know you fancy," Rebekah said. Alliana went to protest, but Rebekah interrupted her. "Do not tell me that you do not fancy someone for you are my best friend and I always know when something is bothering you. So tell me, now."_

_Alliana finished braiding Rebekah's hair. She sat up and faced Alliana. "I cannot tell you. You will just tell that person," Alliana said. Rebekah opened her mouth to reply, but Alliana continued. "Even if you didn't tell the person directly, you would send these not so subtle messages to them. They will then figure it out and I would be so embarrassed. So, I cannot tell you."_

_Rebekah grabbed Alliana's hands and looked her in the eyes. "I swear to never tell your secret."_

"_Fine, only because you are my best friend." Alliana paused and took a deep breath before saying, "I may or may not fancy your brother."_

"_Which one? Which one?" Alliana mumbled a name that Rebekah did not catch. "Please speak up!"_

"_Niklaus."_

"_Oh my. You fancy Niklaus!"_

"_Sh sh. Rebekah you promised." Rebekah closed her mouth quickly. She smiled at Alliana._

"_If you married him, we would be sisters," Rebekah said excitedly._

"_I do not need to marry your brother to be your sister. You already are my sister. You are my best friend and I love you. We are so much closer than my twin and I."_

"_I love you too, Alliana."_

"_To prove it anyways, I made you something." Alliana held up a woven leather bracelet. It was woven in an intricate way with beautiful beads at the ends. "This is for you. To prove that we will always be friends and sisters. Always and Forever."_

_Rebekah took the bracelet. Alliana helped put it on Rebekah's wrist. Rebekah replied, "Always and Forever."_

* * *

Bonnie and I were hanging out at her locker. Elena was skipping school to check up on Vicki at the Salvatore's. Caroline walked over to us and handed Bonnie a bag.

"I have got your costume. It is all here," Caroline says. Bonnie pulls out a witch costume. I start giggling at the irony.

"Seriously?" Bonnie asks.

"Come on." Caroline says as she leans against the lockers. "Can someone please be excited that it's Halloween?"

"I am. I have my costume all picked out, so you do not have to get me one," I say to Caroline.

"Thank you." Caroline says. Bonnie pulls out a witch hat that matched her costume. She gives me a look. "I just wanna have fun, you know, just some silly, fluffy, Damon-free fun," Caroline continues.

Bonnie pulls out a crystal. The same one I found next to Caroline when she was passed out at the Founder's party. "Hey, isn't this the one you got from Damon?" Bonnie asks.

"Yep. Wear it. Toss it. I don't care. I just want it gone," Caroline says. She stands up off the lockers. "Hey. Have you seen Elena? Do we know what she's wearing?"

She looks to Bonnie. I don't know why she wouldn't turn me first, but okay. "I was with Grams all weekend. I haven't talked to her," Bonnie says as she packs her costume into the bag.

Caroline turns to me. "I saw her briefly this morning. I didn't talk to her much, so I don't know what she is wearing. I do know she is with Stefan," I say.

Caroline leans against the lockers again. "Riding to his castle on his white horse," Caroline says grumbling.

"Don't be bitter. It provokes wrinkles," I say to her. She scoffs at me. We walk to our class. I see Caroline touching her forehead as if she was starting to form wrinkles. I just smirk at her.

* * *

Elena stays at the Salvatore's house all day. The next time I see her, she is talking with Jeremy. She is suggesting they go to the Halloween thing at school. They should definitely come.

"Cool. Sure. Sounds, uh- sounds fun. Can't wait," Jeremy says. He sounds very bored saying this. He is pouring a glass of water for himself. He goes to walk away when Elena calls him back.

"I know you are upset about Vicki. I heard she called Matt. But you can't be with her. She needs to get better," Elena says. If I didn't know that Vicki was a new, uncontrolled vampire that could kill Jeremy, I would totally think that what Elena said was harsh. But since she is one, I kind of reluctantly agree with her. "The best thing you can do for her is let her go."

"What does that even mean 'Let her go'? Oh, okay, sure. Since we're such experts on letting people go, right?" Jeremy says.

Elena sighs. "I know you may not see it, but trust me, Jer. It's for the best," she says.

Jeremy walks up to Elena. I could tell things were very serious and Jeremy was not going to back away from Vicki. "Look, for months after Mom and Dad died, I felt like crap, like 'nothing really even mattered' crap. Now all of a sudden, I get these moments, and things started to feel just a little bit better, and Vicki was in every single one of them. So you may not see it, but trust me. Keeping me away from her is not for the best." With that Jeremy walks away.

I walk to Elena. "That was brutal," I say.

She sighs and says, "Yeah. It was."

"So, are you coming to the Halloween thing? I was just about to get ready," I say.

"Oh no! I forgot to get a costume," She replies.

"Just wear last year's. You will have to face less of Caroline's wrath than if you didn't have a costume at all," I say as I walk to my room.

* * *

The party is already in full swing by the time I get there. Elena stayed to wait for Jeremy. People are in different costumes. There is spooky lighting and people shrieking all around the place. It is so much fun. I find Caroline and Bonnie at some candy station. Little kids were reaching for candy inside of the witch cauldron. They were both in witches' costumes. Caroline's costume is black and purple and strapless. Bonnie's is amber and black and has three-quarter sleeves. She also is wearing a blond wig. I see Tyler walking over to them in a cape and shirtless.

"Cider for the ladies? It's a Lockwood special," Tyler says.

"No way," Bonnie starts.

I walk over. "The last time I had one of those, I was hung over until Thanksgiving."

They turn around to see me. "Ems, you look good, but you are such a lightweight," Caroline says. My costume is of a huntress. It is basically a sexy, female Robin Hood. It is a green and black dress with a green cape. The dress has thick tank top straps and goes midway of my thighs. The top is green with a black leather corset-like design. The skirt flows out to allow me to move. It is covered with a dark green cape that matches. The cape ties around my neck and covers my head. I paired it with black leather boots that go up to my knees. I have a bow and a quiver full of arrows as well. I really like my costume.

"The last time I had one was in ninth grade. I can handle my drinks now. But I am still not going to have one," I reply.

"I am going to drink until someone is hot enough to make out with," Caroline replies as she takes one.

"Sounds like a plan," Tyler replies. They start clink their drinks together. Bonnie and I just sigh exasperatedly at each other. This is going to be interesting.

I spend most of the party with Bonnie and Caroline. I see Elena walk in wearing last year's nurse costume. She matched Matt who was also wearing last year's doctor costume. I only saw Jeremy for one second, but I could tell he wasn't in a costume. Elena finds me later. She is searching for Jeremy. Vicki is here and she is not in control. I immediately start helping her. We start to look all around school. Then, I think that they would probably be looking for some privacy. So, we go to the back of the school with all the school buses. Elena and I find them. Jeremy is screaming for Vicki to stop. She has gone out of control. "No! Vicki!" I scream. Elena grabs a plank of wood.

Vicki rushes over to Elena. Elena swings the plank of wood at Vicki's head. Vicki swats it away and pushes Elena. She launches Elena into a pile of wood. Vicki turns to me. She tries to do the same to me, but I evade her. She goes to try again but I evade her again and give her a hard kick to the chest, knocking her back. I walk up to her and give her a few quick, hard punches. She recovers quickly. She tries to rush to me, but Stefan pushes her against a school bus. Vicki pushes him away and flashes away. Jeremy calls for her right before she does. Stefan helps Elena up, who is clutching her side.

"Go. Get inside," Stefan tells us. "Go!"

We rush to the door. Elena grabs Jeremy before rushing to the door. Stefan looks for Vicki under the buses. When Elena grabs the door to open it, Vicki returns. She pushes Jeremy back, knocking him down into a garbage can filled with wooden planks. She grabs Elena and pulls her away from the door. Vicki pulls her in close and starts feeding on Elena. Elena starts screaming. I give a hard kick to the back of Vicki's knees causing her to release Elena for a second. She goes to feed on Elena again, but Stefan stabs her from behind. Vicki releases Elena and backs away slowly. A shocked look is one her face. This is one of those moments I will never be able to forget. Stefan pulls the plank of wood out from Vicki. She turns around to face Stefan, her body graying. Her last look is to Jeremy. A tear slips down her face before she collapses, dead. Jeremy starts calling out for her.

"Vicki!" Stefan grabs Jeremy before he can reach her. Jeremy calls out for Vicki from behind Stefan. Another moment I will never forget. The pure brokenness of Jeremy's screams for Vicki will haunt me for I don't know how long. Everyone just stares at Vicki's body in shock. I finally shake out of my trance and look to Jeremy and Stefan.

"Let's get him out of here," I say to Stefan. "Call your brother. This is his mess to clean up." I grab Jeremy while Stefan grabs his phone. I can hear their quick conversation. I turn to Elena as we leave. "'Lena, stay here. Someone needs to deal with Damon and Vicki's body. If I stay here, I just might kill him and I don't think your boyfriend would like that too much."

"He's no longer my boyfriend," my sister replies.

"That is not the point. You stay here, so Damon will not end up dead," I say. I grab Jeremy and walk to my car. Stefan follows. We drive home and Jeremy rushes upstairs to his room. I make him some tea and go up to his room. Jeremy is sitting on his bed crying. I put down his tea on his side table, sit down next to him and just hold him. He silently sobs. Elena joins us later. She sits in front of him and places her hands on his shoulders.

"Do you understand what happened tonight?" Elena asks.

"No," Jeremy says, tears glittering in his eyes. "I don't understand. I mean, I know what I saw, but… I don't understand." Jeremy looked so vulnerable with his arms wrapped around his legs and body.

"She was going to kill me," Elena said.

Tears continued to fall down Jeremy's face. "Now she's dead. Vicki's dead," he says.

I wrap my arms around him tighter. "I am so sorry Jer. I know what she meant to you."

Elena goes to place her hand on his face as a means of comfort, but Jeremy pulls away. "Make it stop. It hurts," he says.

"Sh, sh, sh, sh. It's okay," I say, holding him, rocking him back and forth like I did when he was younger.

"Why does everybody have to die on me?" Jeremy asks. This moment literally breaks my heart. Jeremy has been through so much in these past few months. I wish I could take away all his memories, but I couldn't do that to him.

"Oh my god. Come here," my sister says. We pull Jeremy into a sister-sandwich. Jeremy starts crying into my shoulder. I just hold him. Elena leaves, I follow her a minute later. She is out on the porch talking to Stefan.

I hear her ask, "Can you make him forget?" No, she can't do that to him.

"Elena…" I hear Stefan say.

"Stefan, please. I don't know how he'll ever get past this. I just want him to forget everything that happened," Elena says.

"He will get past this with time, not compulsion," I say. Elena turns to me for a second, and then turns back to Stefan. I could tell she was making pleading eyes at him.

"Even if I did it, there's no guarantee that it would work- because of how I am, because how I live. I don't have the ability to do it right," Stefan says.

"I can do it," I hear Damon say from behind me. I turn to face him. "If this is what you want…" He walks closer to us. "I'll do it."

"No. We are not going to do this to him," I say.

"Ems, you saw what he was like after Mom and Dad died. You heard what he said about her helping him. How is he going to get past this?" Elena says.

"It will be hard for him, I know that. But pain and suffering define us just as much as happiness and love. He needs to come to terms with Vicki's and our parents' deaths before he can finally move on with his life."

"How do you know that he will come to terms with this?!"

"He is a lot stronger than you give him credit for. He is not a little boy. He will get past this with time."

"I can't wait for that. I can't watch him suffer every day, knowing that there is something that I can do to help him." She looks at Stefan, then at Damon. "This is what I want."

"Fine. If you are so set on compelling him, you tell him when he finds out, and I know he will, that I had nothing to do with this." I walk away after I say this. I walk into the kitchen and make myself a cup of tea. I see Damon walk upstairs a little later, so I know Elena went through with compelling Jeremy. As much as I wanted to do the same thing, it was not right. Jeremy needs time to get past this naturally, not a supernatural shortcut. I just wish that Jeremy will not be too mad when he finds out what Elena has done. I go to sleep afterwards. This day has been really long and I am exhausted.

* * *

A few days later, Elena, Jeremy, and I talked with Sheriff Forbes, Caroline's mom about Vicki's "disappearance." She asked us questions about what Vicki was like, did she say anything about where she was going, was she doing anything different, was she talking to anyone new, and other questions like that. I knew what I was supposed to say, but I tried to say as much as I could honestly. It winded up being that most of what I answered was honest. It almost did seem as Vicki had only ran away, but unfortunately I knew differently. Vicki was dead. I was reminded almost every time I saw Matt or Jeremy. They would never see her again. I knew my twin was feeling the same way. When we left the station, Stefan was outside. I left Elena and Stefan to talk. They totally still had feelings for each other, but I knew Elena still had some issues with certain things. This week she doesn't like all the lying. It just kind of comes with the supernatural territory. Some people have what it takes to be a part of it, others are better left not knowing about it.

Later that day, Elena was wallowing on the couch. Jenna and I sat down on either side of her at the same time.

"You're wallowing," Jenna says.

"So are you," my twin replies.

"My wallow is legitimate. I was dumped," Jenna says.

"Yeah. Well, Logan's a jerk. You can do some much better," I say. I start picking at the blanket that is on my sister's lap.

"You didn't get a brushoff email saying, 'I'm leaving town. See ya.'"

"Wanna keep it down over there?" Jeremy asks from behind us.

"Why? What are you doing?" Jenna asks as she sits up and turns around on the couch to face him.

"Homework," Jeremy replies. Elena and I turn around at the same time.

"Since when do you do homework?" Elena asks. I am really puzzled by this too.

"I gotta finish this. I'm way behind, and I have a quiz tomorrow, so…" Jeremy continues his work.

Elena, Jenna, and I look at each other. "What do you think?" Elena starts. "Alien?"

"Some sort of replicant?" Jenna asks.

"Maybe a body-snatcher?" I ask.

"He can hear you," Jeremy says, looking at us. He gives us a sarcastic smile for a second, and then he gets back to work. Elena and I look at each other. What is going on with Jeremy?

* * *

Later, Elena kept wallowing all day, so I called for backup. Bonnie arrived later. Together we found Elena lying in her bed.

"You up?" Bonnie asks.

Elena rolls over and answers, "No." She tries to pull the covers back over her head, but Bonnie and I pull them back. "No." Elena protests.

"Why haven't you called me back?" Bonnie asks, as she sits on the bed.

"I'm sorry," Elena replies.

"Are you gonna stay in there forever?" I ask.

"Yep," my sister quickly replies.

"Move over," Bonnie says. Elena scoots over to the center of the bed. Bonnie and I lie on either side of her, under the covers.

"We are officially worried," Bonnie says. "What's going on?" I know what's going on. I just need help getting Elena out of this funk.

Elena just keeps staring at the ceiling, not looking either of us in the eye. "I'm tired of thinking, of talking. I-"

"Can I get a one line version, so I can at least pretend to be helpful?" Bonnie interrupts.

"Stefan and Elena broke up," I say.

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Bonnie asks. We both just give her a look. "Right. Stupid question." Bonnie sighs. "I know I have been kind of M.I.A. when you need me the most. I suck."

"Want to make it up to me?" Elena asks. "Get my mind off of it."

"I could always use a distraction," I say.

Bonnie looks thoughtful for a moment before saying, "Just remember you asked for it." She smiles at us before getting off the bed and closing the window. Elena and I sit up on the bed. Bonnie grabs the pair of scissors on the bedside table and one of Elena's pillows. She takes the pillow out of the pillowcase and tears it open with the scissors.

"Hey!" Elena protests, but Bonnie ignores her. She dumps all the feathers from the pillow onto the bed.

"Uh, be patient," Bonnie says. Elena and I nod. Bonnie sits on the bed in front of Elena and I. "I need to swear you to secrecy."

Elena gets this guilty look on her face. I see this and say, "It's kind of a bad week for that kind of stuff."

"Swear, because I am not supposed to be showing you this," Bonnie says.

"Okay. We swear," I say. Elena nods in agreement.

"Okay, there's no windows open, right?" Bonnie says.

Elena looks around, "Right."

"There's no fan, no air conditioning," Bonnie says.

"None. What are you doing?" I ask.

"Grams just showed me this. You're gonna love it. You ready?" Bonnie says.

We nod and Bonnie smiles at us. She holds her right hand over the pile of feathers. One lifts underneath her hand. I just stare at her in amazement. She lifts her hand slightly up and down a few times, the feather following her hand underneath it everywhere it goes. She lets her hand drop and so does the feather.

"Bonnie, what's going on?" Elena asks.

Bonnie just smiles at us again and rubs her palms together. She opens her hands and set them above the pile of feathers a second time. She lifts both of her hands up and more feathers lift up beneath her hands. Elena and I just gasp. I can feel the magic floating through the air. She sets her hands down again and the feathers fall back into the pile. We just look at Bonnie. She smirks at us and her eyes look up to the ceiling. Lots of feathers fly up into the air and just float around the air. Elena stands up and stares all around in amazement. I keep looking around as well. I can actually feel the magic. It is like a slight tingly feeling on my skin. Elena just starts laughing in amazement. Bonnie sits there calmly. "It's true Emmy, Elena." I look to Elena, who has her hands on her mouth. "Everything my Grams told me. It's impossible, but it's true. I'm a witch."

Elena and I look at each other before looking at all the feathers still swirling around in the air. "We believe you," I say. We all start laughing again.

A few minutes later, we had cleared away the feathers and we were sitting on the bed. "It's weird, huh?" Bonnie says. "After all this time joking about being psychic, I really am a witch." We all laugh.

"I still think it is so cool," I say.

Bonnie looks down. She plays with an extra feather. "You don't think I'm a freak now, do you?" She asks us.

"No, of course not," I reply.

"Uh, Bonnie, I just- I don't understand, though. If your Grams asked you to keep this a secret, why did you tell us?" Elena says.

"You guys are my best friends. I can't keep secrets from you," Bonnie says. Elena and I look at each guiltily. Elena then looks down, but I hide my guilt by forcing a smile on my face. I have become really good at that.

* * *

Bonnie leaves an hour later. We talked for a long time and just hung out. We had a lot of fun and Elena was distracted for a while. But all too soon, Bonnie left and I was being dragged to the Salvatore house. I knew Elena needed to talk to Stefan and didn't want to do it alone, but sometimes I don't want to be dragged places. We got out of the car and rang the doorbell.

A woman's voice answers the doorbell, "It's open. Come on in." Who could that be? I'm pretty sure Damon didn't have a sex change in the past couple of days, so who could it be.

Elena and I walk inside. We look around to find a woman with long, blonde hair wrapped in a towel walking towards us. That must be the woman who answered the door. She stops as soon as she sees my twin.

"Oh my god," the woman says. Elena just looks at her. "How, uh…wh…who," the woman stutters out. She holds up a finger as she stutters.

"I'm Elena. This is my twin sister, Emilia," Elena replies.

"Hi! Who are you?" I ask.

"Lexi, a friend of Stefan's," the woman replies. The fact that she is in a towel and a friend of Stefan's is kind of suspicious, but I am not one to judge.

"Is he here?" Elena asks.

"He's in the shower," Lexi replies. That makes it look like they slept together, but Stefan doesn't seem the type. "Do you want to wait?"

"No," my twin replies. I think she is thinking the same thing as I am. But I think she believes that they actually slept together.

"I'll tell him you stopped by," Lexi says.

"That's okay," my sister says, right before she leaves. Lexi and I both watch her go.

"She's not normally like that. She just happens to think that you slept with Stefan. She's a little jealous, maybe a bit betrayed because she still really likes him, even though they are broken up." I look back at Lexi. " I don't think Stefan is the type that randomly sleeps with woman. That is much more of a Damon approach to a break up. How long have you known Stefan for?"

"Oh, I really long time."

"Do you mean 8 years or more like 80?"

"100 years is more like it. Stefan told me you were smart."

"I guessed that is why you are comfortable enough to walk around his house in just a towel. Elena is the pretty one that gets all the boys. I'm the one that shows them that I am better and smarter than they are."

"I like you."

"I like you too. I'll see you around Lexi. My sister is probably waiting for me in the car."

"Bye." I then walk out to the car. Elena drives off as soon as I close the car door.

* * *

Later, Elena answers the door to find Stefan there. I was about to leave for Caroline's party at the Grille. I just happen to hear their conversation. I know it is bad to eavesdrop, but I want my sister to be happy. It hurt that my sister didn't believe she couldn't talk to me. She was saying about how she couldn't tell something to Bonnie and the only person she could talk to was Stefan. That hurt. I hear Stefan ask if Elena needed a ride to the Grille. I thought that was a perfect time to make my entrance.

"I could use a ride," I say. I don't really want to ride in a car with my sister at the moment.

"Are you going to Caroline's party?" Elena asks.

"Lexi's dragging me," Stefan replies.

"I like her more and more," I say.

"And…it's my birthday," Stefan says.

"Really?" Elena asks. Stefan nods.

"Wow. Happy 162nd birthday, Stefan," I say. He gives me a funny look for a second, like 'how did you know how old I am?' "You said that you have been 17 since 1864. 1864 to now is 145 years. 17+145=162."

"Yeah. Happy birthday," my sister says.

"Thank you. Both of you," Stefan says.

"Actually, I, um, I think I'm gonna stay in tonight," my sister says.

"Okay. Well, have a good night," Stefan says to Elena. He looks at me. "Let's go."

"Okay. Bye Lena!" I say.

* * *

The party is in full swing by the time we get there. Stefan and I find Lexi almost immediately. We start hanging out and we were having a lot of fun. Soon, we were dancing out on the dance floor. Or should I say Lexi and I were dancing while Stefan was awkwardly swaying side to side.

"Okay, We're gonna need a little more foot movement," Lexi says. We are both literally dancing circles around him.

"Yeah, I'm not really- not really interested in making a fool out of myself," Stefan says.

"Come on. You're not that bad," Lexi says. I could tell she was getting through to him, so I pull out my phone.

"Do me a favor. Tell me if you see Damon with his camera phone," Stefan replies.

"Oh, Damon is not your problem," I say. Stefan turns to me and sees me holding my camera phone. He laughs and playfully knocks it away. We keep dancing for a little while longer. After, we start playing pool. Stefan breaks and he does it well. I notice my twin arrives at the party soon after we start playing pool. I follow Lexi to the bar. She orders 3 shots of tequila, and then changes it to 4 shots. I'm guessing one is for Elena, who I see she notices has arrived. She then compels the bartender to forget needing an ID and to make the shots on the house. She then walks over to Elena.

"Ah, the famous Elena," Lexi says.

"Towel girl," Elena replies. I give her a look like 'really? That's the best you could come up with?'

"I've been called worse. Here," Lexi replies, handing Elena one of the shots.

"I didn't know that you guys could drink," Elena says. We walk from against the bar to a table.

"Oh, yeah. It helps curb the cravings, but makes for a lot of lushy vamps," Lexi replies. "Cheers," she says to me. We clink our glasses together and do our shots at the same time. Lexi then turns back to Elena.

"You know, I've never seen Stefan drunk," Elena says.

"That would be something I want to see," I say.

"He always seems so…" Elena says.

"Uptight?" Lexi finishes for her.

"Yeah," I say.

"But not with you," Elena says.

"That's the benefit of knowing someone for over 100 years. You can just be yourself," Lexi says.

"Yeah, he can't be himself with me," Elena says.

"Well not yet. The first step was him telling you," Lexi says.

"Yeah Lena. Think about it. By lying to you, he was hiding a part of himself from you. Telling you would be the first step," I say.

"The rest comes with time," Lexi says.

"You seem so sure," Elena says to Lexi.

"The love of my life was human. He went through what I imagine you're going through- denial, anger, et cetera. But at the end of the day, love really did conquer all," Lexi says. She then notices Elena hasn't drunken her shot. "Are you going to drink that?"

"Oh no," Elena says and hands Lexi her shot. "Go for it." Lexi then does the shot. "I'm scared."

"But you're here," Lexi says.

"'Cause you're crazy about him," I say.

"I get it, okay?" Lexi says. We all look over at Stefan playing pool. Lexi says still looking at Stefan, "What's not to love?" She looks back at Elena. "Take it from someone who has been around a long time. When it's real, you can't walk away." That was deep, and actually really great advice. Lexi then drinks Stefan's shot. Elena and I both smile and laugh at her. Lexi and I both start to walk back over Stefan.

"Hey Lexi," Elena calls back. "It was really nice meeting you." Lexi just smiles and we walk back over to Stefan, who is still playing pool.

"Yep, I drank yours. Sorry," Lexi says. Stefan just leans against his pool stick which he holds upright.

Stefan smiles at Lexi. "Thank you."

"I don't think you were supposed to be listening," I say.

Stefan just keeps smiling at Lexi. "What? I was feeling epic. Whatever," Lexi says. Stefan then starts making eyes at Elena again, but looks down when she looks back at him.

* * *

A few minutes later, Elena comes over to talk to Stefan, so I leave. I find Caroline drinking heavily at the bar.

"Caroline, what's wrong?" I ask her.

"Nothing is wrong. I am just a shallow, stupid, waste of space," she says, staring at her drink.

"Who called you that?" I ask, sitting on the barstool next to her.

"Who do you think?" She says, looking at me. Her eyes are really sad, and I can't bear to see one of my best friends like this.

"Damon. You really need to get over him. He is not good for you," I say. I rub her back in comfort.

"It's not like anyone else is going to pay attention to me," Caroline says.

Caroline really needs a nice guy to help her get over Damon. She needs someone like Matt. Oh my god. It's perfect. Caroline needs someone to help her get over Damon. Matt needs someone to help him get over Elena. They would be great together. "Caroline, you will find someone. They will treat you like you are the most important thing to them. Like you are precious and beautiful. They will choose you over anything else. You just have to find them. They might even be closer than you think."

"Really?" Caroline asks.

"really. I have to find Elena. Why don't you go talk to Matt? He is an amazing comfort to people," I say as I help her up off the barstool.

"Yeah, Matt," she says looking for him. I see her sit down next to Matt at a table. I go back to Elena and Stefan. I grab a napkin and a spare pen I find on one of the tables and start doodling.

* * *

The next time I look up, a few minutes later, Sheriff Forbes is injecting Lexi with something at the bar with Damon. I see her being dragged out of the Grille. I follow Elena and Stefan as they try to exit. We can't from the front door, so I suggest the back exit. We rush out the back to see Sheriff Forbes shooting at Lexi. Lexi keeps walking towards the sheriff, when Damon appears in front of her and stabs her with a wooden stake. Elena and I gasp, and Stefan holds Elena against his body to hide her and shushes us. I just stay behind them. We all watch as Damon pushes the stake further into her body. Lexi's body soon drops to the ground. I watch with tears in my eyes as it falls. I didn't know Lexi for a long time, but I really liked her. I am really going to miss her. We see Damon and Sheriff Forbes converse for a few seconds before Damon packs Lexi's body into the trunk of the sheriff's car. After they leave, Stefan starts to walk after Damon. Elena and I have to follow quickly after him. Elena calls for him, but ignores her. He doesn't turn around until I grab his arm.

"He killed her," Stefan says. "He killed Zach. He killed Tanner. He turned Vicki. I have to kill him." He starts to walk away again.

"No. You can't do that," Elena says. He turns back to face her.

"Why are you trying to save him, Elena?" Stefan asks. "He's never going to change. Don't you see that? He's never going to change."

"We are not trying to save him. We are trying to save you. You have no idea what this will do to you," I say.

"Please, Stefan," Elena pleads with him.

"Everywhere that I go, pain and death follow. Damon follows me. No more," he says.

He tries to walk away again, but Elena grabs his arm one last time. "Stefan, please. Please, just- just talk to me. Let me be here for you. Talk to me."

"No," He says. He looks down at the ground before looking back at my sister. "You were right to stay away from me." He finally walks away. Elena and I stay for a minute before going home. I let my hurt feelings from before disappear for now. My sister needs someone to comfort her for the moment. Elena quickly goes to bed after we get home. I go to my room and grab my sketchbook. I start a picture of Lexi. I hope I never forget her or her amazing advice.


End file.
